This was my most-anticipated release of 2020. I finally found a used copy I could afford and read it immediately. I was not disappointed. If you love gothic books or Victorian sensation novels, then you need to read this one! It's got the vibes of a classic, but it's written in modern times and set during WWII. It follows two women. One works for a museum and is in charge of repairing taxidermy animals. The other is the sheltered heiress of Lockwood Manor. Their paths cross when the museum collection is moved to Lockwood Manor to protect it from German bombs.

This novel has everything you'd expect from a Victorian sensation classic: unexpected deaths, madness, forbidden romance, plot twists, untrustworthy servants, arrogant men, ghosts, bad weather, a creepy atmosphere, frustratingly slow pacing. It's a mash-up of all the greatest hits.

Actually, this book is like a museum for other books. As you wander through it, you see bits of Jane Eyre, Rebecca, The Woman In White, etc. If you're familiar with those classics, then the plot twists in Lockwood Manor are predictable, but I had enough fun spotting the similarities that I didn't care.

I did care that the author switches between two first-person perspectives. The voices of the two characters are so similar that I sometimes forgot whose point-of-view I was reading. This isn't a book you can put down in the middle of a chapter. You won't remember whose head you're in when you pick it up again.

That's my only complaint. I really like this one! It's atmospheric and creative.