The House of Brides by Jane Cockram

An English estate has been home to generations of the women who married into the Summer family.

When one of the daughters gets a letter from a current, teenage relative addressed to her mother pleading for help, Miranda leaves Australia and heads to Barnsley House.  The funny thing is that her mother has passed away.

Miranda never was reliable, and after her job disaster and her father's finding her another job she doesn't want, she thinks this letter from a cousin will save her.

Miranda tricks her father into paying for her flight from Australia to England to find out what the letter meant and finds herself being interviewed for a job as a nanny instead of why she came in the first place. 

Did Miranda go from a bad situation to a worse one?

She can't reveal why she really arrived, and she doesn't know what really is waiting for her at Barnsley House, but she soon finds out all isn't as it should be

What she finds are three children, their father, a housekeeper, an empty, not well-kept inn, an estate in disrepair, odd things happening, and no visible mother.

Ms. Cockram created the story line in a very creative way.  She revealed some of the family's secrets by using a book Miranda’s mother had written that describes the history of the house and the family. Ms. Cockram also used a diary with background information of the characters written by the infamous, "missing" mother.

Everyone and everything seemed to have a secret at Barnsley House.  The housekeeper was especially secretive, dangerous, and frightening.

If you enjoy odd characters, old mansions, family secrets, supposed ghosts, a stolen book, and Gothic undertones, you will want to have THE HOUSE OF BRIDES added to your TBR.

HOUSE OF BRIDES has an absorbing, captivating story line you won't want to put down.

Ms. Cockram’s writing style is descriptive and draws you in.  A marvelous debut all around.  5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.