House of Thieves - Rachel Walkley - ★★

AUTHOR: Rachel Walkley

GENRE: Dual-Timeline Mystery

PUBLICATION DATE: August 4, 2026

RATING: 2 stars.

In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline novel set in Barbados and England. The storyline had great potential but the writing style – with the constant headjumping, overreliance on telling, and the unclear narrative angle – wasn't my cup of tea. This is an outlier review. 

Plot Preview: 

Amy has newly taken over as the chief conservator at the historical Terrington Hall. When an heirloom vanishes, she appoints Harrison as a security advisor. However, Harrison isn't there only for his professional assignment. He has ties with the Hurly family who owned the Hall, and he is determined to learn the truth behind an old-standing family scandal. Unknown to them both, there is yet another presence at Terrington Hall, one carrying more secrets than either of them are aware of. 

The story comes to us broadly in the first-person perspective of the mysterious character over two timelines. 

On the face of it, this book has everything that appeals to me: a Gothic house, historical content, one timeline in the unusual setting of Barbados, a paranormal entity embodying a house, a mystery about stolen artefacts. All of these should have made the novel an unforgettable experience. However, the writing style wasn’t at all my cup of tea. 

For one, there is no clear narrative perspective in the contemporary timeline. The narrator is the same in both the tracks, being alive in the historical time and a ghostly presence in the modern day. So her first-person POV in the historical time does quite well. But in the present-day arc, her first-person sounds jarring, because all she does is tell us what she overhears or sees. Her narrative angle keeps hopping across the characters in front of her, and we mostly get a “He said… she said…” writeup. A constant headjumping across characters never works well for me; I prefer having a clear narrator(s) whose perspective unfurls the story bit by bit. I usually love the ‘ghost as narrator’ trope, but it just wasn’t utilised well enough by not allowing the ‘ghost’ to actually have a personal contribution in the narration and still making them sound omniscient. Without a character whose narrative I can anchor on, I can't follow the story easily. 

The writing is also more reliant on telling rather than showing. The narrator rarely reveals her personal feelings, and she decides on her own whims what to report to us and what to skip. This further creates a conversation-dominant writing style, with most exploration of the characters’ feelings coming through their spoken dialogues. All events are learnt by us through the spoken interactions, so it feels like we are eavesdropping our way through the entire book. This writing style just isn't for me. 

The Gothic and mystery angles are also quite diluted, as is the suspense. There is rarely  sense of urgency coming through the writing, even though some of the events merit a greater emotional/action-based response from the characters. 

I did like the 1812 Barbados track somewhat, but it wasn’t enough to offset the hurdles of the contemporary track. None if the characters except for the “ghost” made me feel connected to them, which is again a flaw in the narrative voice. 

This book might work better for readers who aren’t too fussy about conversation-heavy writing, but to someone like me, it was a challenge getting through. I had been very excited to read a story coming from a paranormal historical POV, so this is a disappointing outcome.  But not all readers have the same reading preferences, so do read the other reviews before you take a call on this work. 

Recommended to readers of historical mysteries who don’t mind a telling-intensive narration or won't miss the lack of a clear narrative viewpoint. 

2 stars, entirely for the historical timeline.

My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Rachel Walkley for a complimentary copy of 'House of Thieves', and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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Blurb:

She has no form. She has no voice. But she's always watching.

As chief conservator at historical Terrington Hall, Amy has one mission: to restore the vast, guilt-stained hoard of the Hurly family. When a family heirloom vanishes, Amy realises there is a thief in the house.

She hires security advisor Harrison, a man whose professional polish masks a volatile connection to the Hurly bloodline. He isn’t just there for the security. He seeks to reveal the truth behind a long-forgotten family scandal.

But there is a shadow at Terrington Hall that follows the living with a tireless, invisible gaze, a consciousness woven into the very mortar and timber, trapping memories with a history too heavy to escape.

In a place where objects are treasured and people are forgotten, Harrison discovers a room that has been sealed for decades. Will a simple theft lead to the resurrection of the family’s murderous secrets?

At Terrington Hall, the dead don't need a body to tell a story — they just need someone to listen.

Two mysteries. Two centuries. One house.

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Author Rachel Walkley:

Born in the Midlands, I grew up in East Anglia and am now firmly lodged in the North West of England. My first writing achievement was my Brownie badge and after that I've never let go of the dream of becoming of an author. Once a librarian and caretaker of books, I'm now a teller of tales and want to share with you the secrets that hide in the pages of my books.

Connect with her on:

Website: https://rachelwalkley.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raejcreations/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelJWalkley

X/Twitter: https://x.com/racheljwalkley

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Check out this book:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/255640339-house-of-thieves

Purchase from: 

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This has been a stop on the #HouseOfThieves blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!