The Daughters of Foxcote Manor

Classic gothic is a house and family with twisty secrets. Hidden pasts, less-than-noble intentions, and even serious offenses such as murder merely scratch the surface of how much the Gothic believes in the collateral complications of being human. \”Black Rabbit Hall\” by Eve Chase follows two households of two generations in two crossing storylines to unwind their own twisty secrets. The first storyline follows a period family named the Altons before and after their charming English life falls into pieces after the death of their mother, which was caused by a mysterious accident in the forests of the family\’s gloomy titular manor. The second storyline follows a contemporary Lorna Dunaway, an engaged woman who swears upon all else that the old Black Rabbit Hall is something more than just the place she wants to host her wedding in. The Hall has answers for both families – difficult truths that would destroy all the fractured pieces of the lives they have tried to hold together. This is Ms. Chase\’s debut novel. For being a debut author, she crafted and paced the period storyline like a well versed author. The Alton children (Amber, Tony, Barney, and Kitty) all hold their own sweet corners inside scenes despite their personalities being a touch too dramatic. Boys aren\’t ever just morbid after all, which defines Toby from the beginning. Girls are also more than just peacekeepers, which becomes Amber\’s staple character function. From a psychological perspective however, it is not uncommon for children to exhibit colorful behavior after a traumatic event, especially after the death of a parent, which makes their chronic melodramatic natures a bit easier to believe. The contemporary side of the overall narrative falls short compared to the period side because Lorna and her baggage does not feel as genuine as the chaos of the Altons. Perhaps my attachment to Marvel\’s cinematic Loki has spoiled me in regards to the emotional depth and reactions of characters who learn something crucial about themselves, but I found I could not sympathize through Lorna\’s ups and downs because she felt like a hybrid of a hundred other literary leading ladies. There was no particular part of her characterization that bridged the gap between her and I which therefore led me to feel disengaged during her respective chapters. Though she felt tangible enough as a main character, with a realistic fianc, a sister, and a sweet father attached to her presence that helped her be more than just a conduit for the reader to explore Black Rabbit Hall, switching away from the Altons proved a challenge, and one I was wont to failing at because her sections were quite uneventful and…predictable. Ms. Chase did a lot well for a debut author. There were quite a few over the top metaphors and descriptions at times, but the Altons did remain with me a few days after setting the book down. The overall story is engaging enough to qualify as a page turner, and the pacing is so smooth for the majority of the read that the developments have time to settle whilst agitating new conflicts between characters. However, there were two major factors that drove the reading experience down outside of my problems with the contemporary storyline: 1) the convoluted conclusion and 2) the gothic trope. The charm of this novel was that it started small. The moment the story wound down to the concluding chapters was the moment it realized it had too many loose ends to tie together, which therefore made it too ambitious in such a short time. To put it in perspective without spoiling too much: the mother\’s cause of death is revealed while another tragedy strikes while one child runs away while Lorna finds her truth while the step mother lays dying while Lorna has her wedding/family reunion while a major main character reappears from self-imposed exile while we get a long tour of grown up Amber\’s life while you get a headache from all the jumping around between all the tying going on around the timelines. It is a monstrous web of striving to close everything with a neat bow that not only makes it unenjoyable to read how it all ends, but the climax ends up being anticlimactic despite all the crucial reveals. The gothic trope peaks in too in case a cast of that many tweens and teens wouldn\’t strike a match somehow, but there is a catch: it is a gimmick of the evil stepmother and Ms. Chase\’s so that the drama that follows it spirals the conclusion into the state it ended up in. The trope is developed well throughout the period chapters, but the aftermath of the consequences winds the novel down into a conclusion that had me feel the novel would have been stronger if the trope had not been present. Perhaps the characters would have even been stronger without having the trope in their midst. Whilst \”Black Rabbit Hall\” was an enjoyable gothic family drama, it left me feeling empty after all the forced flourished bows took priority over crafting a timeless, fitting conclusion. After the story sits in the mind for a few days, it does not haunt or make one mull over the choices humans make, which is more or less the grim charm of gothics, but it takes on the label of a one-time entertaining read. Ms. Chase will be releasing her second novel this summer, which also sounds like a gothic family drama, which I am looking forward to, but at the same time I do hope there will be less secondary storylines to tie up this time around. If you want to start dipping your toes into the gothic genre then this is a great book to start with. It has enough of its characteristics mixed with the charm of genre novels to be an enjoyable introduction.

I am not ashamed to say the title of the book and the photo on the cover is what attracted me. It is pretty cover and the name Black Rabbit Hall is just great. Alas, it was a rather slow moving and mopey bit of Chick Lit, pardon me for describing it that way. There is a difference between womens fiction and chick lit in my opinion. ( That being said I enjoy a light read now and then but when you are pumped for a good mystery, its disappointing.) The book was compared to that of Kate Morton or Daphne du Maurier. Probably because there is a mystery of sorts as well as an old neglected house. The setting is Cornwall and that greatly appealed to me.

The writing was okay and the storyline was good. It just didn\’t keep my attention, probably because there were too many other things going on around me. It took me 9 days to finish it, when it would normally have taken 2 days, maybe 3 at the most. I give it 3-1/2 stars. I was annoyed by the authors pretentious and repeated use of the word enfilade (5 times), which is really just a stupid word for a hallway with doors opposite each other, as most hallways are. The story is about the Alton family, father, Hugo, mother, Nancy, twins, Toby and Amber, and younger siblings Barney and Kitty who annoyingly refers to herself in third person. They reside in London, but spend their holidays at the country estate, Pencraw Hall/Black Rabbit Hall. The family is beset by one tragedy after another in 1968 and 1969. The secondary storyline is set 30 years later, about 32-year old Lorna Dunaway, her fiance, Jon, and her obsession with Black Rabbit Hall, her chosen wedding location. Something about it resonates with her. It\’s currently run by a Mrs. Alton and her humble servant, Endellion Dill. The two stories alternate and eventually come together as revelations slowly unfold.

Read more reviews plus some of my ramblings at […] Lately it seems like every other book I read has alternating voices in alternating times. It also seems like I should be getting sick of it, but not yet! I really enjoyed Black Rabbit Hall, Eve Chases debut novel. Fresh and mysterious and thrilling and lovely all at the same time. Both Amber (Alton) and Lorna are interesting characters with unique voices, although I wish they was a little bit more to both of them. Chases use of language is superb, giving readers a setting Black Rabbit Hall that is perfect in 1969 and then a perfect ruin thirty years later. The other characters are incredibly less fleshed out, and there are just too many secondary characters. So many of them had promise, but there none of them were developed well enough to reach their full potential. For instance, Ambers twin brother Toby. We know just enough about him to fit the story. I wanted more. The same can be said of the evil step-mother, Caroline, who is just a little too stereotypical. And Lucius, her son, as the handsome misunderstood step-brother, to whom Amber is drawn. The sub-characters were just too predictable and two-dimensional. But Black Rabbit Hall is very enjoyable; an involved Gothic mystery. I give it 3.5 stars. And I cant wait to read more for Eve Chase.

Eve Chase is my new favorite gothic author. Her writing is almost flawless and the story is so intriguing. The story of siblings during one tragic summer at their vacation home on the Cornish coast. I eagerly read her second book \”The Wilding Sisters\” and loved it as well. I have pre-ordered her 3rd one, due to come out on July 21, 2020 from my local bookstore, and am going to make sure I am not in the middle of another book on that date so that I can start reading it the day I get home. If you love gothic mystery and want to feel like you are really there living it, then any of Eve Chase\’s books are the one\’s for you.

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