Fyneshade: A Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of 2023

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Marta is offered a governess position at Fyneshade following the death of her beloved Grandmere, who was believed to be a witch by the locals. Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade's dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. Or is she the woman she tells us she is, a powerful, gifted woman who is the victim of an even more powerful man?

On the day of her grandmother's funeral, Marta discovers that she is to be sent to be governess at Fyneshade, her charge the young daughter of the owner, Sir William Pritchard.but none of the ones I've read mention Jane Eyre, the debt to which was far more overt to my eyes: the governess, the housekeeper, the pupil, the sort of master, the dog, the secret in the locked wing. Kate’s ‘Kitty Peck’ series is so fabulous, that as soon as I heard she had a new book out, I was determined to read it. As she gets to know Fyneshade and its people better, Marta realises that deceit typifies every encounter, that everyone has secrets and none of what is said can be trusted.

Many would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark and crumbling corridors, its unseen master and silent servants. Seriously, I’m having a hard time convincing myself Fyneshade was not in fact written just for me, it’s just so up my street it’s pretty much on my doorstep with one foot already inside. I really like how Griffin makes you doubt your need to get behind the lead character of Marta, she's just a complex creation that is brought to life brilliantly.Fyneshade is a very well-written gothic novel which held my attention from the first word to the very last. Beautiful Marta finds herself in a house full of very unlovely servants, a housekeeper who clearly has a few guilty secrets of her own, an ancient crone of a nanny, and a child who may possibly have Down Syndrome.