When Edith Averly is sent to investigate a murder at Green Briar Lunatic Asylum, a rambling gothic institution on the edge of the Cornish moors, she’s horrified to realise that in order to infiltrate the asylum, she’ll have to pretend to be mad herself
Several weeks before her arrival, her beloved father stipulates in his will that his reclusive but strangely-gifted daughters must live apart from each other for a whole year in order to retain their family home. As a further condition of their inheritance, he assigns them each a crime that he was unable to solve during his recent years of armchair detecting.
The eldest sister, Edith, can see echoes of violent events from the past. So when she is sent to the remote Cornish asylum where the brutal murder of Dr Hawkins took place seven years ago – she is quickly overwhelmed by her disturbing visions and begins to fear for her both her sanity and her safety…
Because Green Briar is a place that asks more questions than it answers. Such as, why is the darkly-handsome new doctor in charge unable to meet her eye? Where do the patients keep disappearing to? And who are the Lantern Keepers and what are the secrets they keep?
Only Edith can find out… if Dr Hawkins’ killer doesn’t find her first.
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This was so good. It absolutely delivered on the gothic vibes, being set in a Victorian asylum on the edge of the Cornish moors. I am so excited to continue reading this series when the next books become available.
If you had to pretend to be mad just to uncover the truth, how far would you let the lie go before it started to feel real?
The Story
When Edith Averly is sent to investigate a murder at Green Briar Lunatic Asylum, a rambling gothic institution on the edge of the Cornish moors, she is horrified to realize that infiltrating it means pretending to be mad herself. Weeks before her arrival, her late father’s will stipulated that his reclusive but strangely gifted daughters must live apart for a full year to retain their family home, and each is assigned a crime he could never solve. Edith can see echoes of violent events from the past, and at Green Briar she is quickly overwhelmed by disturbing visions as she investigates the brutal murder of Dr. Hawkins seven years prior. Green Briar asks far more questions than it answers, and only Edith can find the truth, if the killer does not find her first.
Reading Experience
I absolutely love magical realism and paranormal storytelling, so I always get excited when a new book creates that kind of world for me to sink into. Once Edith stepped through the doors of Green Briar, I lived in that asylum right alongside her. I loved the duality of learning what it was like to actually live there and be treated there while investigating in secrets underneath it all. I also deeply appreciated the tragic isolation given to the sisters in this story, torn apart and denied contact with each other. It was genuinely agonizing not to hear any of the other sisters’ stories yet, and I will be the very first to sign up when their books are released.
Writing Style
Jenni Keer writes in a way that gives Edith real confidence in what she experiences and what she believes to be true while still leaving room for doubt that things are not what they seem. We think we are uncovering the truth alongside her, but Edith is never a fool who jumps to assumptions without stepping outside her comfort zone to actually get to the bottom of things. I loved the inner growth Edith experiences and the strength she finds along the way.
Characters
Edith really shines in this story. She is smart, tenacious, but flawed, carrying a history of trauma that caused her to hide her gift for a long time. We are introduced to a whole cast of asylum residents who are just as questionable as the administration running the place, leaving readers questioning everyone’s intentions for the entire read. That constant uncertainty kept me completely hooked, desperate to know the final reveal of good versus evil.
Heartbeat
This book gives such a compassionate viewpoint of so many of the characters living within the walls of the asylum. This was a time when mental health essentially did not exist and people could be whisked away for the slightest inconvenient behavior. Every character inside those walls was misjudged and misunderstood in some way. Through Edith’s undercover investigation, we get to strip away those false labels and truly get to know these people for better and for worse. That compassionate lens on a Victorian asylum setting gave this book so much more depth than a typical gothic mystery.
Final Thoughts
I recommend The Secret of the Lantern Keepers to my gothic suspense lovers who enjoy a paranormal storyline with a thread of romance woven through their mystery. I read The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer previously so I knew the vibes would be there, and she absolutely delivered again. I cannot wait for the next books in this series.
ARC provided via Boldwood Books and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
Jenni Keer lives in the glorious Suffolk countryside with her four grown up children, three demanding cats, but just the one husband. She still pinches herself that she gets paid for making up stories and truly believes being an author is the best job in the world.
She writes romantic historical fiction, often set in the late 1880s and early 1900s, in beautiful locations across the UK, from the rugged Norfolk coast to the eerie Cornish moors. If you love novels dripping with Gothic vibes, the grandeur of old country houses, and twisty plotlines full of long-hidden secrets and suspicious deaths, then you’ll love Jenni’s books.
Her bestselling book to date is No 23 Burlington Square, which has sold over 125,000 copies worldwide, and her latest release is the first in THE AVERLY SISTERS’ TRILOGY, with The Secret of The Lantern Keepers out now.
For fans of Lucinda Riley, Kate Morton and Eve Chase.
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