In 1918, Ivy Boscawen was struggling with the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. It turned out a few weeks after his death that ‘KILLED’ got her thinking about the manner of his death. She became uneasy and wanted to know the exact way he died. Just after Easter, an old friend of Tim’s came to visit, Theo Stainforth, knew how Tim died and told them. He had been there. In 1888, father had been out to deliver a baby and had only just got back when the pounding on the door started. There was a fire at Polneath House. They were trying to contain it but a maid had landed in the pond. The fire was out when we arrived at the House. Unfortunately William Tremain was still missing. The maid was resting on the sofa, after coming round from the smelling salts, she said that William was in her room. Everyone raced to her room and, yes, we found him under the bed. He was dead but his eyes were open. William Tremain died on 23rd December and an inquest had been called to determine how he had died, before or during the fire at Polneath House. I really enjoyed this historical read although it’s not my usual genre of reading. There was an element of mystery thrown into the mix, like what happened to William? The plot was very well written and certainly kept me reading. I like books which go forward and backward in time like this, it sets the scene better, especially in this book. Well worth a read.

A mother mourns the death of her son in the Great War, but at night she dreams about another boy, long dead in a fire at Polneath. With her husband in a sickbed, restless Ivy reminisces the secrets of the great house, love and loss. This atmospheric story moves slowly between two timelines, one in which young, naïve Ivy becomes involved in a tragic events in a nearby estate, and another one, thirty years later, when she tries to understand what happened. But the true heart of the story lies in the authors depictions of love, grief and guilt. Ivy is a beautifully written character who seeks forgiveness and understanding – for her lost love, compromises she made and – as a final blow – the death of her son she feels responsible for. There are powerful emotions in this book, and as the story unravels itself, there are some surprises and unexpected turns that made me appreciate it even more. It is the perfect book to read by the fire, evocative of winter chill and frozen life, waiting to be awakened again. A great read. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a free ecopy of the book.

I absolutely loved this book! Just pefect gothic storytelling with a huge, rambling manor house, mystery, tragedy and a wonderful dual timeline. The central character, Ivy, tells us of her situation throughout the First World War and the death of her only son, plus she goes back to 1888 and tells us of the circumstances of the death of a young child in a fire at the manor house. The characters had such depth and I loved the detail of the relationships between the servants and the families, how women had to negotiate their way and all the social constraints and observations of the times. It was dark at times, emotional, ethereal and absolutely captivating. Deception was a key theme and I loved the parellel of the gunpowder works, some explosive revelations. I just loved it!

Really enjoyed this beautifully written, slow paced unfolding story. In my opinion not a ghost story nor a gothic novel but told through the voice of Ivy, both as a young girl caught up in a tragic death keen to redress a wronged victim and twenty years later as a middle aged woman full of regret, bound by duty and a desire to finally get to the truth both about her own son's death and the tragedy of the past. I felt a real sense of both the 1880s and of life after the first world war.

Beth Underdown draws you down into Ivy Boscawen’s atmospheric Polneath. You will be unable to escape until the final page is read. Keep your wits about you as small details matter in this elegant and compelling read.