⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5 Stars)

A Masterclass in Gothic Atmosphere… Even If the Story Takes Its Time

The very best gothic novels don’t rely on jump scares or shocking twists. They quietly settle beneath your skin, filling you with unease until you can’t quite shake them. House of Splinters did exactly that.

The second Belinda Bainbridge walks through the doors of The Bridge, Laura Purcell had me completely hooked. The atmosphere is so heavy and unsettling that I could practically feel the damp chill of the decaying hallways, hear the groan of old floorboards, and imagine something scratching just beyond the walls. Purcell doesn’t simply describe a haunted house, she makes you feel like you’re trapped inside one.

If you’ve read The Silent Companions, returning to The Bridge feels like revisiting a place that never truly forgot what happened within its walls. Yet this story stands confidently on its own, welcoming new readers while rewarding longtime fans with subtle echoes of the past.

Gothic Fiction at Its Finest

Laura Purcell continues to prove why she has become one of my favorite modern gothic authors. She understands something that many horror writers overlook: atmosphere is often far more terrifying than monsters.

This felt like a masterclass in gothic atmosphere.

The house itself becomes a living character; oppressive, watchful, and quietly menacing. Every overgrown garden path, every shadow-filled corridor, every unexplained sound contributes to an overwhelming feeling that something isn’t quite right. From the very first chapters, dread settles over the story like a thick fog and never completely lifts.

What Purcell does so brilliantly is keep you questioning everything.

Is Belinda truly unraveling beneath the weight of her home?

Or is The Bridge genuinely haunted?

The answer creeps toward you one unsettling page at a time. Every strange shadow, every midnight knock, every unexplained creak feels deliberate, as though the house itself is patiently waiting for the perfect moment to reveal its secrets.

Family Secrets, Dread, and Quiet Horror

Beyond the haunting itself, House of Splinters is layered with everything gothic fiction lovers hope to find.

Family secrets.
Inherited guilt.
Isolation.
Psychological uncertainty.
Danger hiding beneath respectability.

As Belinda uncovers more about her husband’s family history, the tension only deepens. Every new revelation raises more questions than answers, making it impossible to know who can truly be trusted.

The slow, creeping horror works because Purcell allows the uncertainty to linger instead of rushing toward obvious scares.

Where the Story Lost Me

As much as I adored the atmosphere, the pacing wasn’t quite as successful.

The first forty percent absolutely had me on the edge of my seat. The creeping unease was so effective that I was convinced something terrible was waiting just around every corner.

Unfortunately, the novel takes a very long time to move beyond that feeling.

Even around the one-hundred-page mark, relatively little has happened beyond establishing the household and daily routines. While the atmosphere remains exceptional, the central mystery progresses very slowly, and I found my patience beginning to wane before the story finally shifted into a higher gear.

Ironically, once the major turning point finally arrives, around the sixty percent mark, the opposite problem appears.

The final pages move almost too quickly.

Major revelations arrive one after another, characters seem to change loyalties within the span of only a few pages, and several thematic ideas are introduced so late in the novel that they never receive the exploration they deserve. After such a deliberate buildup, I found myself wishing the ending had been given more room to breathe.

Final Thoughts

Even with its pacing issues, House of Splinters reminded me exactly why Laura Purcell has become one of my favorite contemporary gothic authors.

Few writers capture creeping dread quite like she does. She creates houses that breathe, silence that feels threatening, and characters whose fears slowly become your own. While I would have loved a more evenly paced story and a less rushed conclusion, the atmosphere alone makes this a novel I’ll remember for a long time.

If you’re looking for explosive action or constant twists, this may feel too patient.

But if you love gothic fiction where the house is every bit as important as its inhabitants, where every creaking floorboard matters, and where unease quietly settles into your bones long before the true horror arrives, House of Splinters absolutely deserves a place on your reading list.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5)

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Annotation Ideas

While reading, I recommend annotating:

• 🏚 Gothic atmosphere & architecture
• 🪵 Silent Companion symbolism
• 🌿 Nature, gardens & decay
• 👩 Women’s roles & expectations
• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family secrets & inherited trauma
• 👻 Supernatural vs. psychological explanations
• ⚖️ Truth vs. deception
• 💀 Death & grief
• ❤️ Motherhood & protection
• ✍️ Favorite quotes and passages that build dread