House of Splinters

De: Laura Purcell

'An enormous treat . . . beautifully vivid, claustrophobic and macabre . . . a masterful page-turner' Bridget Collins, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Binding
'Laura Purcell really is a master of the unsettling ghost story' Jen Williams

Not every house is a home...

Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home together: born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.

But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before while their young son, Freddie, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures – so-called 'silent companions' – that were once owned by his ancestors.

When Wilfred's charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family’s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?

And are Belinda’s children truly safe here?

The outstanding new haunted house story from Sunday Times bestseller and multi award winner, Laura Purcell, who is credited for reigniting readers' passion for classic gothic tales for a new audience. ©2025 Laura Purcell (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Reseñas de la Crítica

House of Splinters is everything you would expect from Laura Purcell’s return to the world of The Silent Companions: spine-chilling and malevolent, with the eerie companions making up only a part of a mystery involving family grievances, inheritances and resentful locals. A twisty, sinister read (Rosie Andrews, author of Sunday Times bestseller, The Leviathan)

Laura Purcell’s follow up to The Silent Companions is everything I wanted it to be. Return to The Bridge, with its eerie wooden Companions and sinister happenings around the old house… It’s exactly the right blend of dusty glamour and mystery, and cosy-shiver scary: a guaranteed and exquisite chill even as the summer heats up! I inhaled this in two days! (Natasha Pulley, author of The Mars House and The Watchmaker of Filigree Street)

House of Splinters is that most delicious type of horror that makes you want to sleep with the lights on. Laura Purcell ratchets up the tension to an unbearable degree and there is no respite as the twists and turns come thick and fast. Highly recommended for when the nights draw in (Lianne Dillsworth)

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell is a triumphant return to the gothic world of The Silent Companions and completely gave me the shivers (Theresa Howes)

It's a brilliant read - so atmospheric, creepy and beautifully written. By the end, I was holding my breath - definitely not one to read late at night! (Debbie Howells)

Praise for The Silent Companions: [An] extraordinary, memorable and truly haunting book (Jojo Moyes)

Praise for The Silent Companions: Terrific. Perfect setting, great build-up, chilling. What more could you want? (Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black)

Praise for The Silent Companions: [It] shone, for originality for the sheer quality of the writing, the characters and some masterly chills (Peter James)