4.5-STAR REVIEW: THE MANOR HOUSE By Gilly Macmillan

Publication Date: November 7, 2023

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny and What She Knew comes the terrifying story of what can happen after all your dreams come true

Be careful what you wish for…

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight.

Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined.

But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?

Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn —with all its smart features that never seem to work for her—is beginning to feel very lonely. But she’s not entirely by herself out there in the country. There’s a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom’s from school has turned up to help her get through her grief.

But big money can bring big problems and big threats. And is Nicole’s life in danger as well?

Nicole’s beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass bowl.

Surrounded by piranhas.

A suspicious death at an idyllic forest home leads to shocking twists and turns in Gilly Macmillan’s The Manor House.

Nicole and Tom Booth have just received a windfall. After winning the lottery, they create their dream home, The Glass Barn. With all the bells and whistles, it seems like a dream. But when Nicole finds Tom face down in their pool, everything starts to unravel.

Sasha and Olly, neighbors living at the Grand Manor House, are ready to be a shoulder to cry on for Nicole, but they are not at all what they seem. Living with their quiet housekeeper, secrets long buried are ready to be brought to light. Detectives Jen and Hal are ready to find anything they can to prove Tom’s death was far more than the accident everyone else seems to think.

I appreciated that this book started right off with drama and death. At times, when other books take too long to get to the mystery, it can become a bit of a slog, but this started off with a bang! The story became more and more intriguing, and the more you found out, the more suspects seemed to emerge. The characters were well written, and it was very easy to become connected to every character Macmillan wrote. You could feel the tension building, and I was not ready to take a break from this book.

However, that energy didn’t last as well as I had hoped. I felt that the ending just didn’t meet the expectations I had expected from earlier on in the book. It just became a little stilted near the end, and I believe it missed the full opportunity it had to bring more tension through to the end.

The Manor House is a thrill ride with twists and turns you could never see coming. Be transported, but never become too complacent. With this book, you never know who to trust.

Gilly Macmillan is the internationally bestselling author of What She Knew, The Perfect Girl, Odd Child Out, I Know You Know, The Nanny, and To Tell You the Truth. She resides in Bristol, England.