House of Splinters

Named a Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year by The Sunday Times (UK)

House of Splinters is the long-awaited prequel to bestselling and multi-award-winning author Laura Purcell’s gothic horror classic, The Silent Companions.

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, Freddy, 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?

London Sunday Times Pick, 2025

Book Riot Pick, 2026

©2026 Laura Purcell (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Great sequel

Even better than Silent Companions was. Really loved it. I love the narrator Juanita McMahon too. Listened to many books with her narration.

A cool connection to the first book

A fun follow up to the first book—pretty gorey at times but nothing egregious. It kept me wanting to listen and the twists definitely surprised me

So this narrator was... interesting. She did male voices very well, albeit they did all sound like they smoke 8 packs a day. The women characters were similar in that they all sounded alike. I don't know if the narrator was sick when she recorded this or what but she sounded very nasally and stuffy, enough that I nearly gave up on the book a couple times

*spoilers below*




It's been a while since I listened to the first book so forgive any things I get wrong
I had kind of hoped this book would go into where the silent companions came from. I recall them coming from a mysterious shop that *disappeared* and that being a lingering question both from the characters and myself in the first installment. Maybe that's coming in a future book? The ending maybe implied that. But I still liked it and it makes me want to reread the first one :)

Creepy!

House of Splinters was just as good as The Silent Companions! So creepy and suspenseful! I love the twist at the end.

Atmospheric

Its good. The narrator is good, the story is good and how it made me feel, was good--good that I found it and gave it a try. A blend of well written horror while tugging at your heartstrings....ugh, its a good book.

This was an upsetting book

This book is so well written. It’s dark and gothic and scary. It felt claustrophobic and the protagonist had no power. I was frustrated for her.