''Impressive'' The Times '' Shivers aplenty... brilliant '' Daily Mail ''A chilling atmospheric read'' Woman''s Own Not every house is a home... Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their new happy home together: born a merchant''s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor. But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, and there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before while their young son, Freddy, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures - so-called silent companions - that were once owned by his ancestors. When Wilfred''s charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family''s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house? And are Belinda''s children truly safe here? The outstanding new haunted house story from Sunday Times bestseller and multi-award winner, Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions . ''Laura Purcell really is a master of the unsettling ghost story'' Jen Williams

Autorentext
Laura Purcell is an award-winning former bookseller living in Colchester, Essex with her husband and pet guinea pigs. She is the author of five previous novels for Raven Books, among them The Silent Companions, which was a Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, and The Shape of Darkness, winner of the inaugural Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Book of the Year. Her short stories have been included in The Haunting Season and The Winter Spirits anthologies, which were both instant Sunday Times bestsellers. She also wrote 'Roanoke Falls', a dramatic podcast for Realm, working with John Carpenter and Sandy King Carpenter. Her latest novel The Whispering Muse was the 2023 winner of The Dracula Society's Children of the Night Award.

Klappentext

Not every house is a home...

When Belinda Bainbridge's husband inherits his father's crumbling ancestral estate, it feels like the opportunity she's been waiting for.

Belinda has lived in the shadow of her anxious mother for her whole life. Now, she, her husband Wilfred, and their children can start afresh at The Bridge, a remote country house where Belinda will finally become lady of the manor.

But from the moment they arrive, something feels wrong.

The gardens have been left to ruin. The estate is drowning in debt. Whispers still linger about the long-unsolved death of a servant. And Belinda's young son, Freddy, becomes increasingly obsessed with a collection of eerie wooden figures known as the Silent Companions.

When Wilfred's charismatic brother Nathan returns unexpectedly from abroad, he brings with him secrets that threaten everything Belinda believes about her family.

Who, if anyone, will be safe at the Bridge?

A hauntingly atmospheric Gothic ghost story filled with family secrets, creeping dread and supernatural menace, from the Sunday Times bestselling, multi-award-winning author Laura Purcell, creator of the modern classic The Silent Companions.

Perfect for readers of Kate Mosse, Stacey Halls and Susan Hill.

Praise for Laura Purcell's House of Splinters:

'Impressive' The Times
'Shivers aplenty... brilliant' Daily Mail
'A chilling atmospheric read' Woman's Own
'Laura Purcell really is a master of the unsettling ghost story*'* Jen Williams