The Secrets of Rochester Place: Unravel this spellbinding tale of family drama, love and betrayal

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I accidentally joined a book club and this was the first book they gave me. Just reading the blurb I knew it was for me, I’m interested in the unfurling of mysteries in the lives gone by that somehow connect to a main character. I also like to read books set in ww2 from perspectives of civilian people, how they coped, their strength, their bravery, what it was like living in different countries, how they differ, the sides that you don’t learn at school. I have to say, as the pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together, I was completely surprised by the connection between the three characters, I don't think I could have predicted it, although I did have some hunches that were close, but not close enough. Spring 1937: Teresa is evacuated to London in the wake of the Guernica bombing. She thinks she’s found safety in the soothing arms of Mary Davidson and the lofty halls of Rochester Place, but trouble pursues her wherever she goes. I liked Uncle Robin, Mary and Ronald, they seemed homely and familiar in a sense, all have their quirks, their light in spite of the darkness they have suffered, choosing to make the best of things and live life in little ways that make their souls shine. I guessed some of the plot points way ahead of time but unlike other books I’ve read, i wasn’t certain, other things would surprise or enchant me that when it was revealed it was excited rather than feeling like I had read the rest of the book for nothing (as the rest of the writing was to solely build up to this big reveal). I enjoyed deducing and getting things right and wrong, it made it all the more interesting.

The present weaves in with the past and the book jumps from different parts of the past to the present in a way that keeps it interesting. Costello beautifully echoes a number of themes around family, identity, bigotry, and rebellion, through both timelines, bleeding them together with the use of delicious evocative scenes, places, and items from the past, in and around Rochester Place. She does not shy away from the horrors of war, and the human toll that comes with it - including suspicion, hatred, and misplaced revenge, but there is a lot of love too. Everything weaves together seamlessly, fully investing you in the triumphs and troubles of the characters in past and the present. For most of the story, you cannot see where this is going, but gradually the threads come together in a lovely ending that ties them all together with a gorgeous bow of reconciliation, understanding and forgiveness that brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. I’ve been in a sort of reading slump lately so I found this book hard for me to start off. Last month I read so much when I was on vacation that only reading two books this month really got me in a rut…but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this book! I did however, find a couple of things that didn’t make sense to me and this is where the spoilers come in, so please stop reading here if you don’t want to know anymore!! This is a story about neverending love, hatred, ignorance, bigotry, refugees, goodness, and hope. Everything is possible and not only by imagination.I loved the characters in this book, Mary’s voice called loudly to me initially but it was Teresa who finally kept my heart, with her bravery and strength, she is the one I will really remember. As is often the case with a dual timeline, I found I loved the earlier line of Mary and Teresa more than Corinne’s. It’s difficult to say why that is the case as Corinne has a vulnerability about her that I liked and her character really draws and ties both lines of the story together.

I loved the idea behind the book, about being uprooted from the place you were from. I didn’t know about the evacuation of the Spanish children during the Civil War – this book has taught me something new. potential spoiler in this paragraph* I really truly did not expect there to be in twist in this story. The fact that I didn’t think there was going to be a twist meant I couldn’t even guess what the twist was but I LOVED IT.The first chapter of The Secrets of Rochester Place really thrilled me. What a brilliant start which set the tone for a whole book of mysteries and revelations! Corinne in the present day timeline is an emergency call handler, taking calls from people in dire situations and talking them through it until the emergency services arrive. A call she gets one particular night is different though. It's from a woman called Mary, asking her to save her daughter who is trapped at Rochester Place but when the emergency services get there there's no sign of Mary…..or the house. Was it a hoax? Corinne is used to them but something feels different this time. Simply spellbinding, very addictive, and so beautifully written' Sophie Irwin, A Ladies Guide to Fortune Hunting I just love a dual time line historical fiction novel and this one catches you right from the start. All my questions were answered and the whole story comes full circle. I loved the element of surprise and found the ending to be an emotional one. This story obviously has connections to the authors roots and I loved the inclusion of folktales, adding a more ghostly effect. When it coms to historical fiction I usually find it teaches me something new and in this case I learnt a lot about the evacuation of Spanish children in the civil war. Teresa’s story was particularly moving throughout and she ended up being my favourite character.