Win a signed copy of The Secret Thread by Eve Chase, a £30 GAIL's Gift Card, and an RHS Membership

Competition banner_v2

Competitions

Win a signed copy of The Secret Thread by Eve Chase, a £30 GAIL’s Gift Card, and an RHS Membership

SECRET THREAD SOCIALS 23

Extracts

Read an extract of The Secret Thread by Eve Chase

Eve Chase on writing novels: 'I think of a plot like a hammock' 

the-vanishing-of-audrey-wilde-extract-788×306.jpg

The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde: ‘Sisters. Bonded by blood’

The Glass House

The spellbinding SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER and RICHARD AND JUDY BOOKCLUB PICK about old family secrets 
 
'A captivating mystery: beautifully written, with a rich sense of place, a cast of memorable characters, and lots of deep, dark secrets' Kate Morton, bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter 
 
'Absolutely her best yet' Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs 
 
'A wonderful, romantic, compelling mystery. Eve Chase has something of the poet in her: her descriptions of a remote manor house nestling in an ancient forest are worth reading for themselves, but the plotline of The Glass House is utterly absorbing in its own right. We loved it' Richard and Judy Book Club 
 
'The Glass House is not really about a murder, or a creepy house, but about families - the ones we're born into, the ones we make and especially the ones we flee' New York Times 
_______ 
 
The truth can shatter everything . . . 
 
When the Harrington family discovers an abandoned baby deep in the shady woods, they decide to keep her a secret and raise her as their own. 
 
But within days a body is found in the grounds of their house and their perfect new family implodes. 
 
Years later, Sylvie, seeking answers to nagging questions about her life, is drawn into the wild beautiful woods where nothing is quite what it seems. 
 
Will she unearth the truth? 
 
And dare she reveal it? 
_______ 
 
'I adored this beautifully-written, riveting mystery' Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call 
 
'So beautifully and insightfully written, with characters I grew to love. A compelling, moving story that kept me turning the pages right to the very last' Katherine Webb, author of The Legacy 
 
Praise for Eve Chase 
 
'Enthralling' Kate Morton 
 
'Simply stunning' Dinah Jefferies 
 
'The most beautiful book you will read this year' Lisa Jewell 
 
'Filled with intrigue' Clare Mackintosh 
 
'Exquisite and evocative' Sarah Vaughan 
 
Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, Winter 2020

The truth can shatter everything ... 
 
When the Harrington family discovers an abandoned baby deep in the woods, they decide to keep her a secret and raise her as their own. 
 
But within days a body is found in the grounds of their house and their perfect new family implodes. 
 
Years later, Sylvie, seeking answers to nagging questions about her life, is drawn into the wild beautiful woods where nothing is quite what it seems. 
 
Will she unearth the truth? 
 
And dare she reveal it?

The Midnight Hour

Uncover the secrets that lie beneath Notting Hill – the captivating mystery from Sunday Times bestseller Eve Chase 
 
The Richard and Judy Book Club Pick and The #1 eBook Bestseller 
 
**The Secret Thread, the new novel by Eve Chase, is available to buy now!** 
 
'A clever mystery that kept me gripped. I loved every word' Claire Douglas 
'Passionately emotional, dreamily written and dripping with boho glamour' Daily Mail 
'A book you want to race back to' Lisa Jewell 
'A wonderful twisty novel of family and secrets' Kate Morton 
'Moody, evocative, with a dream-like quality no other author can master' Gillian McAllister 
'Lush, evocative, nostalgic; gripping. A true treat of a book' Sarah Vaughan 
'Impossible to forget' Publishers Weekly, starred review 
 
***** 
 Present day Paris: Maggie Parker receives a call. The new owners of her family’s old Notting Hill home are digging up the basement. They’ve no idea what might lie beneath . . . 
London, twenty-one years earlier: teenaged Maggie, babysitting her little brother, waits in vain for her mother to come home after a night out. Seeking clues to her mother’s mysterious disappearance, she's drawn away from the neighbourhood’s grand terraces and into its hustling backstreets - and the arms of someone else living on their wits. 
Over two decades later, the clock is ticking on a secret set to shatter Maggie’s grown-up life. But the draw of the past is irresistible . . . 
***** 
Praise for The Midnight Hour: 
 
'Evocative, beautifully written and absolutely gripping, The Midnight Hour is sensational’ Rosie Walsh 
'A gripping tale of family secrets' Woman's Own 
'I was up all night reading' Elizabeth Fremantle 
'Engrossing, atmospheric and beautifully written' Anna Mazzola 
'A plot as tightly sprung as a Swiss watch' Veronica Henry 
'Absorbing and compulsive . . . a brilliantly imagined and beautifully written story' Hazel Gaynor 
'An exquisitely-written, immersive mystery' Tammy Cohen 
'I adored every word' Gill Paul 
'So vivid, it's like a time machine' Tasmina Perry

Mesmerising - a book you want to race back to

I’m always so excited for a new Eve Chase book and The Midnight Hour is her best yet! Beautifully written with characters that jumped off the page and a clever mystery that kept me gripped. I loved every word

Claire Douglas, <i?Sunday TImes bestselling author of The Girls Who Disappeared

Passionately emotional, dreamily written and dripping with boho glamour

Moody, evocative, with a dream-like quality no other author can master

Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of Just Another Missing Person

Beautifully written and totally compelling

An Eve Chase novel is always a sumptuous treat, and The Midnight Hour is perhaps her best yet. Exquisitely written, it’s immersive, propulsive and as intricately constructed as the antique clocks which herald each lonely midnight hour. As ever, it’s her characterisation that stands out, and her depiction of the joy and precariousness of first love, enjoyed by Maggie and Wolf. With whispers of One Day, and a story reaching back into nineties Notting Hill and Paris, this is a novel to immerse yourself in this summer: lush, evocative, nostalgic; gripping, with a dark undercurrent, but ultimately redemptive and hopeful. A true treat of a book

Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal

A wonderful twisty novel of family and secrets &mdash; the perfect summer read

I loved The Midnight Hour, a gripping, beautifully written novel that plunges you into the lives of siblings, Maggie and Kit, and the mysterious past that looks like it's about to catch up with them. Eve Chase skilfully weaves together two time periods, evoking London and Paris and the world of antiques with such a depth of detail that I felt I was walking the streets alongside the characters. As the tension builds and the secrets they’ve been hiding start to come to light, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and felt every bit of Maggie and Kit’s peril. A summer must-read.

Sarah Pearse, bestselling author of The Sanatorium

This mesmerizing mystery from Chase traces the story of an eccentric British family across two decades . . . with poetic prose and a sweeping scope, Chase reveals the Parker family’s secrets at a tantalizing pace. The heart of the story, however, lies in Maggie and Wolf’s reunion, which the author portrays with tenderness. Surprising, suspenseful, and heartfelt, this is impossible to forget

Evocative, beautifully written and absolutely gripping, The Midnight Hour is sensational - her best yet

Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn’t Call

Eve Chase is at the top of her game in this twisty mystery about broken families, first love, the burdens of fame and secrets never to be told. Zipping between nineties Notting Hill and Paris, a dark truth is teased out of a tangle of friendships and relationships, woven together in Chase&rsquo;s exquisite prose. I was up all night reading

Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Disobedient

Absorbing and compulsive . . . a brilliantly imagined and beautifully written story, populated with a wonderfully original cast of characters. Eve Chase captures the sights and sounds of Paris and London so well I was absolutely swept away, especially as I walked the streets of Notting Hill with Maggie, Kit and Wolf. A writer at the top of her game and a novel to stir your nostalgic nineties heart. I loved every page!

Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat

An engrossing, atmospheric and beautifully written story of a woman trying to turn back the hands of time. I always love an Eve Chase, but this is my favourite so far

Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

The Midnight Hour is an intricate family drama with Eve&rsquo;s trademark lyricism, dishevelled, dysfunctional glamour and beguiling characters. I was completely drawn in and held my breath through twist after twist, clinging on to the emotional rollercoaster right to the very last page when I collapsed with a satisfied sigh. Emotionally astute and beautifully descriptive with a plot as tightly sprung as a Swiss watch, this will put Notting Hill back on the map. Absolutely wonderful

A gripping read, with each tantalising thread eventually coming together

We predict you’ll want to read it in one go

An exquisitely-written, immersive mystery full of loss and longing and boho glamour with a sharp undercurrent of darkness. Brings back to life a Notting Hill that has long since disappeared

I adored every word of this beautifully written, immersive family mystery

So vivid, it's like a time machine

Eve Chase does it again! The Birdcage is glorious; a bittersweet, beautifully written, slow burn family drama with a killer kick in the closing chapters. I loved every word of it

Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Night She Disappeared

Atmospheric and twisty: think Daphne Du Maurier for the modern day

Eve Chase is one of my favourite authors and I fell in love with The Birdcage. A gorgeously written, atmospheric and twisty story of sisters and secrets set on the Cornish coast. Eve Chase's books never fail to make me cry. I devoured it!

Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Couple at No. 9

Notting Hill, London. One May evening, seventeen-year-old Maggie Parker's mother walks out of their front door and doesn't return . . . 
 
With her little brother in tow, desperate to find her mother, Maggie is drawn into a labyrinthine world of antiques and shadowy figures, far from the grand stucco terraces. There she befriends another young person living on their wits. But can he help solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance? 
 
Twenty-one years later, in a Parisian apartment, Maggie’s phone rings and her hard-won grown-up life shatters. While in London, the new owner of the Parker’s old Notting Hill house is excavating a basement, unaware of what might lie beneath, and the clock starts ticking on buried secrets.

The enchanting mystery from the author of The Glass House

Black Rabbit Hall

A secret history. A long-ago summer. A house with an untold story . . . 
 
THE SPELLBINDING MYSTERY FROM THE WINTER 2020 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING RICHARD &amp; JUDY PICK, THE GLASS HOUSE 
 
'Completely swept me away. Glorious, beautifully written . . . I absolutely loved it' LISA JEWELL 
'Utterly gorgeous, atmospheric and spellbinding' 5***** READER REVIEW 
'Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again' STYLIST 
_________ 
 
The hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall. 
 
For the four Alton children, it's the perfect summer escape where not much ever happens - until one stormy evening their idyllic world is shattered. 
 
Decades later, Lorna is drawn to a crumbling Cornish manor house she hazily remembers from childhood - feels a bond she does not understand. 
 
But a disturbing message left by one of the Alton children tells her that Black Rabbit Hall's history is as dark and tangled as its woods. 
 
And much like her own past, it must be brought into the light . . . 
 
A spellbinding story of two women, separated by decades, but inextricably linked by their connection to the beautiful and mysterious Black Rabbit Hall. 
_________ 
 
'Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again' Stylist 
 
'Beautifully written and evocative . . . A delight' 5***** Reader Review 
 
'Atmospheric, with echoes of du Maurier, this haunting novel enchanted me' Woman &amp; Home 
 
'Beautifully, poetically written and reminiscent of everything from I Capture The Castle to Hansel And Gretel' Daily Mail 
 
'Enchanting and moving . . . I loved this beautifully poetic book' 5***** Reader Review 
 
 'There's something about tales of mysterious old buildings that have the ability to set hairs on end . . . Perfect' Red

Apart from the occasional classic, I have rarely felt the urge to read a book twice . . . Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again . . . make Chase's debut the one to pack in your suitcase

There's something about tales of mysterious old buildings that have the ability to set hairs on end. In this one, two intertwining stories explore the magnificence of Black Rabbit Hall and the dark secrets behind its walls. Perfect

Atmospheric, with echoes of du Maurier, this haunting novel enchanted me

Beautifully, poetically written and reminiscent of everything from I Capture The Castle to Hansel And Gretel. Eve Chase is a name to watch

Black Rabbit Hall pulls you like a sleepwalker into a beautiful, hazy story about a grand Cornish home full of character and thunderclap memories, we found ourselves breathless with anticipation. Eve Chase's debut novel is like a prolonged and beautiful daydream, celebrating the enduring power of place in our lives

Black Rabbit Hall completely swept me away. Glorious, beautifully written. I absolutely loved it

Sunday Times bestselling author of I Found You

Black Rabbit Hall is a seductive wonder of a novel; with echoes of Daphne du Maurier and Dodie Smith, it pulls you irresistibly into its world where nothing is quite as it first appears

Expertly crafted, dark, beautiful and utterly enthralling

Family secrets, forbidden lust, and a family of four extraordinary children who'll stick with you long after they've scattered off the page. Eve Chase kept me up with her gorgeous descriptions of a crumbling Cornwall estate and the unruly brood who meets tragedy within its walls

New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet

A stunning new writer has arrived - gripping and heart rending, this novel is full of original characters which don't let you forget them

A deliciously intriguing novel whose rich sense of time and place bear more than a few echoes of du Maurier's best

Edgar Award-winning author of The Wicked Girls

A sheer delight. It has everything: a glorious setting, characters to fall in love with, secrets galore and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very last page. Wonderful

A plot so absorbing that Black Rabbit time will creep up out of the pages and envelop you completely . . . To say I loved this book would be an understatement

It's a fast-paced story of secrets, betrayal and consequence . . . we promise you'll be gripped

The perfect piece of summer escapism, gently edged with glamorous fairy dust. We loved it

Psychologies Magazine, September Book Club choice

A fabulous story. Masterfully realised by Chase, this is one of those books that demands complete attention and lingers in your mind for days after finishing the last page

Debut novelist Chase weaves together Lorna's investigations with Amber's tribulations, a tapestry embroidered with madness, a horrifying accident, and malicious lies. Compellingly readable and riddled with twists and turns worthy of Daphne du Maurier, Chase's tale will delight

Chase's heart-wrenching first novel is equal parts romance, mystery, and historical fiction

Chase deserves high marks for her atmospheric setting and vivid prose, and fans of old-fashioned gothic stories will find this a winner

An absorbing, pacy book full of secrets, lovable characters and dramatic turns, Black Rabbit Hall revolves around the lives and loyalties of four siblings caught up in a life-changing event at their family's country home in Cornwall. A fantastic debut

For the four Alton children, Black Rabbit Hall is the perfect summer escape where not much ever happens - until one stormy evening, something does, and their idyllic world is shattered. Decades later, Lorna is drawn to a beautiful yet crumbling old house she hazily remembers from childhood - feels a bond she does not understand. But a disturbing message left by one of the Alton children tells her that Black Rabbit Hall's history is as dark and tangled as its woods. 
 
And much like her own past, it must be brought into the light . . .

The spellbinding new mystery from the author of Sunday Times bestseller and Richard and Judy pick The Glass House

The Birdcage

LOSE YOURSELF IN THE SPELLBINDING NOVEL FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RICHARD &amp; JUDY PICK THE GLASS HOUSE 
 
**The Secret Thread, the new novel by Eve Chase, is available to buy now!** 
 
'Beautifully written. I loved every word' LISA JEWELL 
'Gorgeously written, atmospheric and twisty . . . I devoured it!' CLAIRE DOUGLAS 
'Daphne du Maurier for the modern day' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 
'Immersive, tense and ultimately redemptive' SARAH VAUGHAN 
'Engrossing, gripping and layered' GILLIAN MCALLISTER 
__________ 
 
When half-sisters Lauren, Flora, and Kat are unexpectedly summoned to the Cornish house where they spent their childhood summers, it's the first time they've dared return. 
 
Because the wild cliffs and windswept beaches hide a twenty-year-old secret. 
 
The truth about what they did. 
 
Someone who remembers them lurks in the shadows, watching their every move. 
 
And there are other secrets, even darker than their own, waiting to be unearthed . . . 
__________ 
 
Praise for The Birdcage: 
 
'Atmospheric' Jane Fallon 
'Utterly intoxicating' Veronica Henry 
'Evocative' Karen Swan 
'Page-turning' Katie Fforde 
'Kept me absolutely gripped' Rosie Walsh 
'Stunning' Catherine Cooper 
'Eve Chase's best novel yet' Gill Paul 
'Haunting' Tracy Rees 
'Spellbinding' Katy Regan 
'Skillfully plotted' Lindsay Cameron 
'I loved it' Tammy Cohen 
'Intriguing' Janet Skeslien Charles

Eve Chase does it again! The Birdcage is glorious; a bittersweet, beautifully written, slow burn family drama with a killer kick in the closing chapters. I loved every word of it

Eve Chase is one of my favourite authors and I fell in love with The Birdcage. A gorgeously written, atmospheric and twisty story of sisters and secrets set on the Cornish coast. Eve Chase's books never fail to make me cry. I devoured it!

Eve Chase never disappoints. The far west of Cornwall is evoked in all its wild and mystical glory in this lyrical and propulsive family drama about three sisters whose lives have been overshadowed by a tragic secret on the eve of the 1999 eclipse. Chase conjures up a bohemian, artistic world filled with damaged daughters and their charismatic, largely absent and narcissistic father. Immersive, tense and ultimately redemptive, while I was reading, it held me completely in its grip.

Sarah Vaughan, bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal

Atmospheric and twisty: think Daphne Du Maurier for the modern day

I loved it . . . engrossing, gripping and layered

Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of That Night

Atmospheric and beautifully written. I absolutely loved it.

Jane Fallon, bestselling author of Worst Idea Ever

Beautiful, page-turning, with believable characters you root for, this will sweep you away. I loved it

Katie Fforde, bestselling author of Wedding Season

I loved this atmospheric story about families and secrets

The Birdcage is a show-stopping novel - beautifully written and atmospheric, with a cast of fascinating, brilliantly realised characters whose story kept me absolutely gripped. Eve Chase has an extraordinary talent - she's one of the only writers I would drop anything for

Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call

A beautifully written-mystery in an evocative Cornish setting at the time of the eclipse. Stunning

Catherine Cooper, bestselling author of The Chalet

The complex relationships between three half-sisters, their mothers and their artist father are painted with compelling psychological depth in this extraordinary and gripping masterpiece. The treacherous Cornish coast is the setting for a cleverly narrated unravelling of the past and the myriad ways in which it has shaped the present. It's like an Old Master portrait that gives away more secrets with each viewing. Eve Chase's best novel yet - and the bar was already sky-high

Gill Paul, bestselling author of Women and Children First

Atmospheric, suspenseful . . . A captivating, beguiling read

A page-turning story brilliantly told in a lush narrative bursting with vivid, wonderful images. Haunting, emotional &amp; just lovely. Loved it.

Tracy Rees, bestselling author of The Rose Garden

Wildly glamorous and utterly intoxicating, The Birdcage is Eve Chase at her very best: taut, intriguing and evocative. Du Maurier with a modern twist

Veronica Henry, bestselling author of How to Find Love in a Book Shop

Eve Chase is a stunning and meticulous writer and The Birdcage - like all her novels - is as spellbinding in its prose, as it is in its plot and the expertly crafted mystery at its heart. A very special novel

Katy Regan, author of Little Big Man

I read it in one sitting and absolutely sobbed at the end. Eve is such an evocative writer - she paints with words - but she has also crafted such a cleverly layered story that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! I was mentally and emotionally wrung out by the end. It's a triumph!

Karen Swan, bestselling author of The Christmas Secret

Skillfully plotted and richly atmospheric, The Birdcage weaves together the stories of three sisters forced to confront an explosive past. Dark family secrets, old rivalries, and new dangers collide in this clever and engaging page-turner

Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look

An evocative, beautifully written mystery in which the past whispers in corners and family secrets are washed back in on the tide. I loved it

Tammy Cohen, author of The Wedding Party

The Birdcage is an intriguing study of sisters and sibling rivalry, of memory and forgetting, of daughters who are more mature than their father. Eve Chase took me to an isolated manor in windswept Cornwall, where I turned the pages faster and faster to see if the three sisters could put the past - and past grievances - behind them. The perfect weekend read!

Janet Skeslien Charles, author of The Paris Library

I always look forward to a new Eve Chase novel and The Birdcage didn't disappoint. Time and place are evoked with subtle perfection. Complex sibling rivalries and secrets, the past rubbing up against the present, make this a must-read Chase classic. I couldn't recommend it more highly

E.C Fremantle, author of The Poison Bed

I loved this atmospheric story about families and secrets

An enthralling story of secrets, sisters and an unsolved mystery

Evocative and filled with intrigue

Clare Mackintosh, bestselling author of Let Me Lie

Eve Chase is a supremo of this genre ... an intricately woven novel of suspense and secrets

One of the most enthralling novelists of the moment. This is the most beautiful book you will read this year

Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of The Family Upstairs

Sublime writing, secrets, lovable characters I didn't want to leave, and a ripping plot twist that kept me guessing. An absolute jewel of a book

Dinah Jefferies, bestselling author of The Tuscan Contessa

An enticing, chilling plot, captivating characters and prose beautiful enough to totally lose yourself in

I adored this beautifully written, riveting mystery. Chase is peerless in her ability to stitch together dark secrets and tantalising twists with unforgettable characters and enthralling imagery. I am a die-hard fan!

Exquisite and evocative - and the pace and suspense are handled expertly

Addictive and delivers atmosphere in spades

Jane Fallon, bestselling author of Faking Friends

An engrossing story of fractured families, secrets, lies and misunderstandings

1999: The summer of the total solar eclipse. Three teenage half-sisters - Lauren, Kat and Flora - are staying at Rock Point, a remote Cornish house, under the neglectful eye of their artist father. They sit for his famous portrait, Girls and Birdcage. And hide a devastating secret. 
 
2019: A winter reunion at Rock Point throws their lives into disarray. It's the first time they've been back since that summer - and they're trying to put it behind them. But someone is watching the house. Someone who recognises the girls in the painting. And won't let the past lie...

The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde

Discover the spellbinding mystery from the Richard &amp; Judy bestselling author of THE GLASS HOUSE 
 
**The Secret Thread, the new novel by Eve Chase, is available to buy now!** 
 
'An enthralling story of secrets, sisters and an unsolved mystery' KATE MORTON 
'One of the most enthralling novelists of the moment' LISA JEWELL 
______ 
 
When four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to spend the summer, all is clearly not well. 
 
They find their aunt and uncle still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. No one seems any closer to finding out the truth. 
 
Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret? 
 
As the sisters are lured into the mystery of their missing cousin, the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn. 
 
One which will leave blood on their hands, and put another girl in danger decades later . . . 
______ 
 
'Evocative and filled with intrigue' Clare Mackintosh 
 
'One of the most enthralling novelists of the moment' Lisa Jewell 
 
'Exquisite and evocative - the pace and suspense are handled expertly' Sarah Vaughan

An enthralling story of secrets, sisters and an unsolved mystery

Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lake House

Every now and then you read a special book and this is one. I can't tell you how much I loved it

Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of The Tea Planter’s Wife

Eve Chase deserves to be lauded as one of the most enthralling novelists of the moment. This is the most beautiful book you will read this year

Evocative and filled with subtle intrigue. I so enjoyed it

Sunday Times bestselling author of I See You

An enticing, chilling plot, captivating characters and prose beautiful enough to totally lose yourself in. This book is the dream

Chase summons up an enchanted and enchanting environment - reminiscent of classic British literature

A long hot summer, a Cotswolds manor house fallen into ruin, a dark secret hidden since the 1950s . . . all perfect ingredients for an addictive read, and The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde delivers atmosphere in spades

What happens at Applecote Manor has repercussions that stretch tentacles into the present day . . . A mystery of nail-biting suspense

I'm really in awe of Chase's power of description. It is magical and she sharpens every sense

The bonds of sisterhood will tested and an unthinkable choice will have a decades-long legacy . . . step back in time for a mystery of breathtaking suspense

An engrossing story of fractured families, secrets, lies and misunderstandings

Beautifully written with a gripping plot, I couldn't stop reading this

Number One Sunday Times bestselling author of A Secret Garden

This little beauty absorbed me completely. Fabulous

Sunday Times bestselling author of My Sweet Revenge

Mitford sisters meet Hideous Kinky by way of Kate Morton. Just wonderful

Infused with tension and suspicion as lies are uncovered, I was gripped by the dark mystery that surrounds Audrey's disappearance and desperate to know who might be responsible. This is one novel I won't be able to stop thinking about for a very long time. I really loved it

Sunday Times bestselling author of Local Girl Missing

The writing is beautiful - characteristically exquisite and evocative - and the pace and suspense handled expertly. This is an assured novel: richly poetic, immersive, affective. It even made me cry at the end

Beautifully written with superb characters, this is a deeply satisfying novel which glows with texture and emotion

Sunday Times bestselling author of The New Mrs Clifton

I'm really in awe of Eve Chase's writing. There is something magical about it: she sharpens every sense. And underlying the lyrical description is a masterful suspense - like a strong current in a river, it pulls you along to the very end. The book was utter bliss. Lyrical, magical, enchanting, bewitching

Sunday Times bestselling author of The Forever House

Utterly engrossing and beguiling from the first page, a beautifully written, exquisitely paced, dark dream of a book

I devoured it. What an exquisite, intriguing, evocative novel. I already know it's a novel I will reread and talk about to everyone I can

Sunday Times bestselling author of The Stranger in My Home

A haunting mystery about the secrets of the past, the bonds within families, and the hidden ties that connect people across time. A story to be savored, The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde is a book I'll be recommending to everyone I know

New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls

As poetic and intricate as it is a page-turner . . . a delicious, utterly satisfying novel that needs to be savoured

From the strange, almost dream-like opening pages, I was transfixed by this novel . . . I was especially moved by the depiction of the relationship between the sisters - both tender and strained, and the utterly evocative sense of place. A beautiful and compelling story

Critical acclaim for Black Rabbit Hall

Black Rabbit Hall's beautifully crafted mystery is a delight I want to experience again and again . . . make Chase's debut the one to pack in your suitcase *****

There's something about tales of mysterious old buildings that have the ability to set hairs on end. In this one, two intertwining stories explore the magnificence of Black Rabbit Hall and the dark secrets behind its walls. Perfect sunlounger fodder

In the heatwave of 1959, four sisters arrive at Applecote Manor to relive their memories of hazy Cotswolds summers. 
But their uncle and aunt are still reeling from the disappearance of their only daughter, five years before. 
An undercurrent of dread runs through the house. Why did Audrey vanish? Who is keeping her fate secret? 
As the sisters are lured into their missing cousin, the stifling summer takes a shocking, deadly turn. 
One which will leave blood on their hands, and put another girl in danger decades later . . .

Eve Chase

An intriguing mystery wrapped in the sumptuously glamorous life of a famous designer, The Secret Thread is a story beautifully and compassionately told. With shades of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo I was enthralled till the very end

I loved everything about The Secret Thread. Spellbinding, evocative and beautifully written, with stunning locations and unforgettable characters that I truly cared about. A moving and compelling story of sisters, hidden secrets, tragedy and first love. Eve Chase’s best book yet!

Glorious and glamorous . . . a great premise, fabulously realised in Chase's lush, lyrical style, and with a wonderful ending

Family secrets unravel in this clever page-turner of a book, portraying a constellation of glittering characters. A sharply observed and sumptuous read

I was completely swept up in this intoxicating tale of two sisters divided by tragedy. The Secret Thread is a riveting, beautifully told mystery that absorbs from the very first page. I loved it

Clare Leslie Hall, author of Broken Country

I devoured it! Eve has always been a lyrical and beguiling writer but The Secret Thread is so cleverly constructed and evocative of that fateful summer, it really is her best yet

Karen Swan, bestselling author of Three Summers

An exquisite stately home caught in the stultifying summer’s heat; ripe gardens and inviting river. First love and sexual awakenings. Glamorous interiors. A story waiting to be unravelled and understood. Chase’s numerous fans are in for a treat with a propulsive mystery, luminous writing, and characters who stayed with me. Quite possibly her best yet

Sarah Vaughan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Anatomy of a Scandal

Exquisite! Shimmering with allure, The Secret Thread is a story of embroidered memories, naked ambition and families ripped asunder. With rich, textured prose, the star-crossed lives of the earthy Bramleys and the celestial Caswells unfold deliciously in this addictive read

Evie Woods, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop

The Secret Thread is a stunning, evocative novel that pulls you into a hot summer on a grand country estate, in which the lives of two families become fatally entwined. Characters you feel like you know coupled with descriptions that are wonderfully lush and vivid meant I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I had to find out what happened to them all

The novel really is proof that the treasures we hold onto are more than mementos of our past; they are also keys to our future. The Secret Thread is supremely clever, glittering with glamour, and exquisitely tied together with the most beautiful denouement. A stunning achievement. I loved it.

The intriguing story of Mimi Mott, with its myriad strands that eventually weave together all the secrets of her past, is riveting from the very first page. Sibling rivalry, unrequited love, class divides and a dazzling career span decades and countries– no-one does glamorous family drama like Eve Chase. It glitters and winks and shines, never letting up for a moment. Absolutely gorgeous

Veronica Henry, the million copy bestselling author

The Secret Thread is sensational - Eve Chase is a writer at the top of her game. Gripping, immersive and hair-raisingly beautiful, it is written with Chase’s absolutely peerless style and flair for character. I adored every word, every page

Rosie Walsh, author of The One Day You Were My Husband

The Secret Thread is a tantalizing, evocative mystery. Eve Chase’s trademark gorgeous prose conjures up vivid, splendid settings, where upstairs, downstairs and family dramas play out to a tragic end. The truth lies in memories that must be unpicked decades later. Ambition, identity, love and family ties are the stakes. A stunning novel

An Eve Chase book gives all the satisfaction of reading Elizabeth Jane Howard or Daphne du Maurier and The Secret Thread is no exception. Chase’s impeccable writing evokes the past with such specificity, the sounds, the smells, the feelings, and above all, the difference in atmosphere to the present, weaving effortlessly the now and then of her intergenerational story. The novel is pinned at its heart with a tragedy that takes the breath away with its shocking pathos and destructive reverberations. This is a wonderful, absorbing and compulsive read.

The Secret Thread by Eve Chase is an engrossing, layered read. This saga of two sisters lost to each other due to the textured, tricky nature of memory and how they find each other again is as seductive as the bewitching setting of country houses, Manhattan apartments and Swinging London in the 1960s. I adored this book!

Like a literary geologist Eve Chase identifies the fault lines that fracture families starting with seemingly trivial incidents and growing into major rifts that endure for decades. Her writing is full of colour with scenes so evocative you feel sure you must have been there yourself. Honestly her novels just get better every time. I'm in complete awe

Gill Paul, author of Scandalous Women

A sparkling, evocative novel rich with secrets, lies and a love that lasts a lifetime

Captivating and hugely atmospheric

Mimi Mott, celebrated designer and style icon, is auctioning off her estate, intent on telling the true story of her life in objects. Her new assistant, Jo O’Mara, is determined to win Mimi’s trust. But Jo carries secrets of her own, and time is running out to unpick the past. 
 
Who is Mimi, really? A woman who rose from humble beginnings – but at what cost? What happened in that Wiltshire manor house during the summer of 1969? Who died the night of the glittering summer party? 
 
As the countdown begins, Jo is drawn into a world of obsession, sisters and secrets – and must risk everything to unravel the truth, one thread at a time.

Eve Chase

Books by Eve Chase

Articles featuring Eve Chase

Win a signed copy of The Secret Thread by Eve Chase, a £30 GAIL’s Gift Card, and an RHS Membership

Read an extract of The Secret Thread by Eve Chase

The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde: ‘Sisters. Bonded by blood’

Everything you need to know about u003cemu003eThe Midnight Houru003c/emu003e

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter