Parting the Veil - Review

 

Parting the Veil by Paulette Kennedy came out earlier this month, and it was a wonderful read. It's got plenty of twists and turns, intriguing characters, and a haunted manor in the English countryside. 

The following review was created for NetGalley in exchange for the ARC and an honest review.

*Spoilers*

Escaping a tragic past in New Orleans, a mysterious new neighbor, horrible rumors of betrayal and a haunted estate: things Eliza Sullivan has to survive in her new life in rural England at her inherited estate. 
Her new neighbor, Lord Havenwood, catches her attention with his mystery and with his charm, but he’s the talk of the town…and not in a good way. Lord Havenwood changes after their hasty marriage, and Eliza is caught in between his sweet generosity and his vile secrets. Parting the Veil was a genuine mystery. There were a few moments throughout the story where I thought to myself “Oh, I know where this is going.” Turns out, I definitely did not. 
The story started a bit slow and didn’t truly capture my attention until a little over halfway when Eliza finally starts taking matters into her own hands and searching for the answers to the mysteries that haunt Havenwood Manor. However, the paranormal aspect to this story was well written, and I’d love to have read more of it, as it was rather brief. Eliza’s interactions with the ghosts of Havenwood Manor were suspenseful and spooky, and kept the mystery alive. More rumors and horrors threatened to spill from Havenwood Manor and put Eliza’s life in danger. And holy plot twist! The ending of Parting the Veil was an intricately crafted surprise. It’s so cliche for the bad guy to be the “evil” twin, that I literally didn’t even consider that the bad guy could be the “evil” twin. Though of course, Malcom is not truly evil, but his actions spiral into madness more and more until Eliza realizes he’s not the twin she married. A+ plot twist for taking a cliche and burying it so deep behind a paranormal haunting and the mental deterioration from syphilis that I’d 
completely forgotten it was even a possibility. All of the main and side characters were well written and interacted with each other in a way that kept the story moving at a pleasant pace. The intricacy of character relationships was unique and engaging. The descriptions and detail of the setting and scenes were beautiful and haunting and draw you deep into the walls of Havenwood Manor. Overall, a wonderful gothic mystery!