I enjoyed both the plot of this book and the way the author unfolds the story. It reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey, but with multiple twists.
The characters are the staff and owners of an English manor located in a somewhat isolated location. They seem a motley and unlikely combo of characters, but find themselves allies as the story develops.
Not only does the housekeeper have secrets, but many of the other characters do as well. Explainations are revealed as the book progresses, making reading quite absorbing, anticipating what will happen next. There are several villains who are quite despicable and seem to have the upper hand over more honorable characters. Still by the end, honesty and the unraveling of secrets bring resolution and moral retribution.
I recommend this title to readers who like a bit of mystery and history with their love stories. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. ( )

Kate Furniss is the housekeeper of Coldwell Hall. This is the perfect hiding place for her. She is running from an abusive husband.

Then there is the footman, Jem Arden. He is at Coldwell Hall to find out what happened to his brother. His brother has been missing and he went missing from Coldwell Hall.

I enjoyed the mystery surrounding these two characters. And when their love blooms…it just might find them in a mess. Jem is strong and he protects Kate to the best of his ability. Kate is also tough, tougher than she knows. But will their strength protect them??

Boy this book is long! Longer than it needed to be. It just moved so slow. But the author created enough mystery surrounding the two main characters that I kept with it. I have only read one other novel by this author The Glittering Hour. And apparently I had the same thoughts about that novel.

I do believe the narrators, Raphael Corkhill; Shakira Shute, were another reason I kept listening to this book. They were truly fantastic.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review. ( )

The action of the novel takes place in England in the years 1911–1916 and follows the fate of servants, maids, cooks and footman of the Edwardian era.

They came to Coldwell for different reasons.

Kate Furniss found this remote place to hide from her husband. She changed her name and became a housewife. It seemed like she would be safe here, but the changes at Coldwell Halls turned everything in the opposite direction.

Jem Arden has come to the Coldwell to learn more about his missing brother, who disappeared during an Indian party held at Coldwell Hall. However, Jem did not expect to be intrigued from day one by the housekeeper, Mrs. Kate Furniss.

The two main protagonists surrounded by other impressive characters from the Edwardian era make this story a fascinating read.

The beginning was a bit confusing, with many characters interacting with one another at once. But as I got to know each person, it became clear that they all played an important role in the story. They all fought under the unfaithful eye of high society, and especially under the eye of one villain, Frederick Henderson, Randolph Hyde's valet.

This was a story about finding peace, redemption, and unexpected love. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to those of you who enjoy historical fiction. ( )

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel.

“Upstairs-downstairs” stories are always intriguing, especially since most offer the “downstairs” perspective of the lowly servants who toil to meet the whims of the upstairs crowd. Set mostly in 1911, we get a detailed picture of what that toil was like in an large country mansion before modern conveniences. The housekeeper of the title is Kate Furniss, barely 30, highly efficient and emotionally restrained as befitting the woman in charge of Coldwell Hall. As the story begins, the reckless and frequently scandalous Sir Randolph Hyde, dispatched to run the family’s Indian concerns to keep him out of trouble, has returned to prepare for his elderly father’s death and his inheritance. He brings with him his longtime and very loyal valet, Frederick Henderson, a bitter, officious and rigid type much disliked by the other servants. It is hard to say which is most repugnant.

Into this tense scene steps the enigmatic Jem Alden, recently hired as “second footman,” a role that technology is increasingly making superfluous. He hates the work and the entire aristocratic scene. He is at Coldwell to pursue what has left a burning hole inside him: the disappearance of his younger brother Jack while in service nine years earlier. No one, not the local police or his employers, searched that hard, which hardens Jem’s hatred of his “betters” all the more. While he searches Coldwell undercover, the clues he finds confirm his sense of a conspiracy of silence among the nobility and their higher servants. Henderson’s particular animosity, which manifests in an “accident” of some brutality, makes him think that the valet recognizes Jack in his features and is not so subtly warning him to cease.

Against her own misgivings Kate is immediately attracted to Jem, a particular mistake because there are ranks even among servants, and he is far beneath her. He is also very attracted to her, seemingly knowing her unspoken thoughts. But Kate also has a secret and Jem’s presence at once makes her feel safer than she has in years, and also reminds her about the source of her trauma.

The story has a dual timeline, and alternating viewpoints, with occasional insertions of unsigned and often undated letters that from a soldier at the Somme in 1916. While he describes the slaughter and his own cynical views about why and how it is taking place, the writer often alludes to things that remind him of “that summer.”

The period and setting are familiar enough that this summary could easily prompt a shrug, but it’s not a run of the mill historical fiction. Grey is a remarkably gifted writer, and her use of imagery, her characterization, and the way in which she goes forward in time from the story’s setting before the war, really brought me “into” it. If there’s anything that bothered me, it’s the large cast of characters, both above and below stairs, each coming and going and adding their own viewpoint. At times, it’s difficult to keep them, and the timelines, straight—there are also occasional forays back to the Victorian years. But the suspense builds steadily through to the resolution. I recommend it highly even if you think you’ve had enough of Great War novels! ( )

This sweeping novel of historical fiction takes place before, during and immediately after the WWI in England. Kate Furniss is the young housekeeper to a sprawling country mansion, Coldwell Manor. Kate is good at her job, she has to be as she is hiding under a false name. She has been at Coldwell for over ten years existing under the radar of the aristocracy. Jem Arden arrives at Coldwell seeking a job as a footman. He is also not exactly who he says he is. He is searching for answers of what happened to his younger brother Jack who was in service to the family when he vanished years ago without a trace. There is an electric tension between Kate and Jem and they are very attracted to each other, but do they have a future with so many secrets and mysteries between them. This novel really has it all, several villains, a romance and many interesting supporting characters to flesh out the story. It also seems to be historically accurate and beautifully written. I loved the descriptions of the manor and the countryside it resides in. I highly recommend this novel for lovers of historical fiction, it's got what it takes to fulfill a reader. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for an opportunity to read an ARC copy of this book. ( )