Black Rabbit Hall

Both the title and this cover hooked me as I have a weakness for stories about creepy old houses with ghosts, secrets and mysterious doings, and with a recommendation by ghost story writer John Harwood on the front, combined with the blurb on the back cover, made me think I was set for a chilling and enthralling read.
 
It has the usual double-strand story with alternating time periods, tenses and points of view that used to annoy me intensely, but to which I’m now largely resigned as I’ve been forced to accept that this style of narrative is now almost mandatory in modern fiction.
 
Lorna and her fiancé Jon are out in Cornwall looking for venues for their upcoming wedding. When they come across Pencraw Hall, aka Black Rabbit Hall, Lorna is stirred with some sense of memory of the place. It is dilapidated and inhabited by quirky characters but she is determined it is the venue for them even as Jon has his doubts.
 
In the late 1960s, Amber is the elder daughter of four children who spend many happy holidays at the Hall. When tragedy strikes and their father brings his old flame Caroline into the household, things begin to go awry for everyone.
 
The main positives about this book are the snappy prose with some excellent descriptions that avoid cliché, but I struggled with it in places and especially the last third. There are tragedies, but no real sense of dread or anything here to scare you out of your wits and perhaps it is a sign I have now read too many similar books to be overly surprised at the twists and secrets revealed in the last few pages.

For the most part, this is actually a family relationships novel with some heart-tugging episodes, cute children and two leading females who allow their hearts to rule their heads. While Caroline isn’t meant to be an appealing character - stereotypical wicked stepmother - I actually found her quite intriguing and even understood her irritation with everyone at times. 
 
This is a novel with many good points and will probably have broad appeal, but for anyone expecting something darker, more edgy or supernatural, you will be disappointed.

Three and a half stars.
 
(There are an interesting variety of covers for this book in other countries  - above is the Australian version - and some have continued with a semi-Gothic theme, while others such as the one below with the little boy is, for me at least, a charming and far more accurate reflection of the true direction and heart of this story.) 
 
Amazon US
 
Amazon UK
 
Booktopia

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