The Manor House by Gilly Macmillan

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny and What She Knew comes the terrifying story of what can happen after all your dreams come true.

 Be careful what you wish for...

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight. Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined. But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Nicole is devastated. Tom was her rock. And their beautiful barn —with all its smart features that never seem to work for her—is beginning to feel very lonely. But she’s not entirely by herself out there in the country. There’s a nice young couple who live in the Manor itself along with their middle-aged housekeeper who has the Coach House. And an old friend of Tom’s from school has turned up to help her get through her grief. But big money can bring big problems and big threats. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident, or was it something worse? And is her life in danger as well? Nicole’s beginning to feel like a little fish in a big glass bowl. Surrounded by piranhas.

Paperback, 336 pages

Published November 7, 2023

 by William Morrow

4/5 stars

I was fortunate enough to attend an author event with Gilly Macmillan during her Canadian tour following the release of The Manor House. 

From the first pages I pulled right in as Nicole makes the shocking discovery of her husband Tom floating lifelessly in the pool.  Nicole and Tom, recent lottery winners, seemed destined for a bright future until tragedy struck.

What follows is s story told from many POVs, it wasn't hard to keep straight as each was uniquely flawed though compelling and not really that likeable.  I found myself particularly drawn to Tom's perspective, seeing what actually happened that morning.  This was a story filled with red herrings, twists and revenge.  I was kept on my toes and actually read the last half in one day, the suspense was real folks.  My only reason for stopping with 4 stars is that I found parts of the ending, while satisfying, to be rushed to the point of being unbelievable.

All in all, an addicting read that was hard to put down, it kept me guessing trying to connect the dots.

This book was part of my 2024 Reading Off My Shelf Challenge.