Frost Hollow Hall

Looking at the cover no-one would guess the depth and tension of the story behind such a pretty scene.  Tilly trespasses onto the frozen lake at Frost Hollow Hall in the winter of 1881, falls through the thin ice and is rescued by Kit, the son of the house who has been dead for ten years after a similar incident.  When her father and sister buy tickets for the ship to take them to America leaving Tilly and her mother behind, Tilly is devastated beyond words, but is also determined to find out what happened to Kit and why he cannot rest in peace.  She gets a job as a housemaid at the Hall, which is a very unhappy place, haunted by someone’s ghost, but is it Kit or someone else? Only Tilly’s tenacity and her burgeoning relationship with Will Potter who helps her, uncover the mystery and bring closure to a very sad episode.

This is Emma Carroll’s first novel, and is quite a debut.  The story of Tilly’s determination to bring Kit peace unfolds with almost unbearable tension, beautifully told alongside her own pain at the loss of her father and sister, and her relationship with the mother for whom she always seemed to be second best.  Her friendship with Will grows from annoyance to an appreciation of his qualities and her reaction to the touch of his hand conveys to the reader that they will be more than friends in the years to come.

This is a very good novel marred by an awful cover which conveys nothing of the story within.  The publisher’s reading notes suggest the novel is perfect for young Downton Abbey fans and does the book no service. I would query their suggested age of 9+ for a book more suited to 11+ because of the themes with which it deals.