The Girl At The Window By Rowan Coleman

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I love reading books that dip from past to present to solve mysteries and the synopsis caught my attention. Especially the “centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors” which had a gothic vibe.

Synopsis from Netgalley:

“Ponden Hall is a centuries-old house on the Yorkshire moors, a magical place full of stories. It’s also where Trudy Heaton grew up. And where she ran away from…

Now, after the devastating loss of her husband, she is returning home with her young son, Will, who refuses to believe his father is dead.

While Trudy tries to do her best for her son, she must also attempt to build bridges with her eccentric mother. And then there is the Hall itself: fallen into disrepair but generations of lives and loves still echo in its shadows, sometimes even reaching out to the present…”

My thoughts

In the first few chapters we’re introduced to Trudy and her son Will.  Trudy takes her son back to her childhood home to heal after the loss of her husband. Will keeps saying that his father isn’t dead. And they didn’t find a body.

I loved this book.When I started reading I didn’t want to stop. Straight away I liked and cared about Trudy and her son and I loved Ponden Hall. The house had a gothic presence but it wasn’t a malignant one, at least not to the Heaton’s who had lived there for generations. I couldn’t stop reading to follow Trudy’s search as she unravelled the mystery of Agnes who many years ago lived in Ponden Hall. 

I loved that Emily Bronte visited there in the past and the box bed in one of the rooms was the inspiration for Cathy’s in Wuthering Heights. I’m a lover of classic books and of course Wuthering Heights and this book feels like a homage to the Brontes and especially Wuthering Heights. The story is not the same but it has a similar gothic atmosphere. I feel like this book was written especially for me and for readers like me.

If you love gothic, literary fiction with a historical mystery like I do this book is perfect. I only regret reading it so quickly because it was so good. I wish I could’ve savoured it, but it was hard to stop reading. 

I don’t think the synopsis does this book justice and I don’t know if I can express how much I enjoyed it.

Have I found another favourite author?