Author: Jane Cockram
ISBN: 9781489296825
Copy courtesy of Harper Collins Australia
The House of Brides is a debut novel by Melbourne author Jane Cockram. It is a very mysterious and sometimes creepy gothic tale of an old house, suspicious housekeepers, disappearing women and motherless children all set in England. Miranda literally runs away from her home in Australia after a disastrous career as a social media influencer when it all goes wrong.
She feels at a loss as her mother died when she was quite young and her father has since re-married and has had two more children, so she feels lost. Her mother wrote a best-selling novel called The House of Brides, which has haunted her since she was old enough to read it. Miranda wants to find out more about her extended family after a mysterious letter arrives from a young girl who lives in Barnsley house.
Miranda flees to England with the intent of finding out what is going on and instead ends up being employed as a nanny to three children at Barnsley House. Whilst working under cover she meets a variety of people including her uncle and the 3 cousins, the creepy Mrs Mins and the mysterious aunt Elizabeth who lives on an island nearby.
When the children’s mother disappears one evening, the plot thickens, and everyone is not who they seem, they all have secrets are desperate to cover them up no matter what! This was a very impressive debut novel and had me thinking about the classic novel Rebecca as I was reading it.
There were quite a few interesting characters in it, but Miranda was the main protagonist. It was not the sort of novel I would have originally picked up, but I must say I enjoyed this very much, and it was refreshing to read something a little on the dark side.
Thank you so much to Harlequin and Beauty and Lace books for the copy of this book for review purposes.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading House of Brides. You can read their comments below, or contribute to the discussion by leaving your own feedback.
Janine is a customer experience officer at her local library – and a certified bookaholic!
Firstly thank you Beauty and Lace and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The book follows Miranda who makes a poor choice on social media which loses her her job. Miranda decides to go back to England and poses as a Nanny to find out more information about her late mothers English Manor house. There are many hidden secrets that and twists and turns that begin to unfold from there.
I would describe this text as a gothic style thriller and I will be keen to read more by Jane Cockram in the future.
Then ending is not predictable and I struggled to put the book down, a great read!
The House of Brides by Jane Cockram is about Miranda a social media influencer.
Her mother (who died when she was young) had written a novel ‘The House of Brides’ and she receives a mysterious letter from an extended family member in England from where her mother grew up. When things go wrong with her job, due to her own actions she leaves Australia to escape and goes to England in an attempt to find out more about her family while keeping her identity secret.
The book is full of secrets and mystery and I enjoyed reading it. A great debut novel.
Thank you Harlequin and Beauty and Lace for the book!
Thank you Harlequin and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity of reading this novel, The House of Brides by Jane Cockram.
The story follows Miranda, a failed social media influencer who lses her job. As tensions surface between herself and her Dad she up sticks and runs off to England and uncovers a trove of family secrets.
I loved the tone of this novel, the gothic atmosphere and setting. I believe this isn’t however a Thriller as labelled, but had suspenseful elements. A bit of slow burn but it is engaging. Despite finding the ending a little anticlimactic, it was still an enjoyable read. Perfect for wyling away a weekend.
Thank you for the opportunity to review The House Of Brides.
The majority of the story takes place in England, where the main character Miranda flees to after losing her job as a social media influencer.
After receiving a letter from a distant cousin in England, Miranda heads there to try and uncover a whole lot of secrets that her family have kept hidden. She takes on the role of nanny, and slowly pieces together the history of her family. This is a fairly interesting story but not sure if I would recommend it.