Review: The House on the Cliff by Charlotte Williams

The House on the Cliff

by Charlotte Williams

Publisher: Bourbon Street Books

Pages: 352

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  One woman's quest to discover the dark secret at the heart of a family.

Actor Gwydion Morgan's dramatic appearance at Jessica Mayhew's psychotherapy practice coincides with a turbulent time in her own life - her husband has just revealed that he's spent the night with a much younger woman. Gwydion, son of the famous Evan Morgan, is good looking and talented but mentally fragile, tormented by an intriguing phobia. Jessica is determined to trace the cause of his distress. So when his mother phones to say he is suicidal, Jessica decides to make a house call. The Morgans live in a grand cliff-top mansion overlooking a rocky bay with its own private jetty. It's a remote and somewhat sinister place. On her visit, Jessica finds out that an au pair who looked after Gwydion as a child drowned in the bay in mysterious circumstances. Could it be that Gwydion witnessed her death? In her quest to help her client, Jessica finds herself becoming embroiled in the Morgans' poisonous family dynamic. At the same time, she has to deal with the demands of her own domestic life: her struggle to keep her marriage intact, as well as her older daughter's increasingly defiant behaviour. And then, of course, there is the growing attraction she feels towards her new client . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  A psycho therapist gets caught up in a client more than she ever has and at the same time she is dealing with drama in her home life, this book definitely had the eery feeling from beginning to end.  Set in Wales, and with a fantastic cover, the author did a fantastic job of setting the stage for a dark and cold story with quite a mystery involved.  

There was quote a lot of psychology words wrapped up in the story, but I may have skimmed over that part to find the story.  A who dun it with a fantastic twist at the end, although I may have predicted a few parts, I was a little bit surprised with the killer's identity.  I think the simplicity in the characters was superb.  I was thankful that the author didn't muddle the story with describing and spending time with any of Jessica's other clients who weren't central to the story.  

I wanted to love this book more, but at the same time I think it was perfect to read it in the middle of winter.  If you enjoy the dark mysteries, you would benefit by picking up this one and could probably read it pretty quickly.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.