Buying Options

This title is not currently available for purchase

Share <Embed>

SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE by [Elisabeth Gifford]

Follow the author

Elisabeth Gifford

SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE

by Elisabeth Gifford (Author) Format: Digital Download

880 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

£3.99

—

Audible Audiobooks, Unabridged

"Please retry"

£0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

£28.96

£28.95

£9.72

Paperback

"Please retry"

£7.59

£6.38

£0.79

Audio CD

"Please retry"

—

£20.41

—

Digital Download

"Please retry"

—

£8.99

—

Product details

Customer reviews:
880 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Elisabeth Gifford

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Elisabeth Gifford studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three adult children and lives in Kingston upon Thames.

Customer reviews

5 star		53%
4 star		27%
3 star		13%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Louise Marley

Secrets of the Sea House

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2017

Verified Purchase

I seem to be reading a lot of books about spooky old houses lately. Not sure what that says about me, other than I like books about spooky old houses, obviously! This one has a dual timeline, set in 1860 and the present day on a Hebridean island called Harris.

In the present day, Ruth and Michael have bought an old Vicarage with the intention of completely renovating it. They have overreached themselves financially, and it doesn't help that the skeleton of a child has just been found beneath one of the rooms, creating a hold up while the police investigate. Distracted from her work, Ruth sets about investigating the history of those who had lived in the house before them, particularly a Victorian clergyman who appeared to be completely obsessed with selkies.

The story is told from three points of view: Ruth, the Rev Alexander Ferguson, and Moira his maid. Ruth is not immediately likeable, but that's due to her past history. I found Alexander's narrative a bit hard going at first, as I've never been keen on stories written in that old style of English, even if it is historically accurate. Moira's story seemed a little bit repetitive, but in the end she became my favourite character.

So at first this story was heading for a solid four stars, but then I became swept up with the characters and their lives, particularly the Victorian timeline and Alexander's tales of mermaids and selkies. I'm English, so I don't know much about Scottish myths and legends, but I found this aspect of the story particularly fascinating. I also enjoyed Alexander's journey from a kind-hearted, slightly naive vicar to - ah, well that would be a spoiler!

Anyway, this one is definitely going on my list of favourite reads and I've already downloaded another book by the same author. Recommended!

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ms. Erica Wildwood

Strangely nebulous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2019

Verified Purchase

I can't remember how many books I've read recently with a dual time narrative - it's obviously very fashionable tbese days. Unfortunately I found none of the characters particularly convincing, and as others have pointed out, neither author, editor or any of the many people listed as having read the book before publication know the difference between 'surplus' and 'surplice'. This is not the only instance of cringe-inducing sloppiness.
For me, there was a strange, nebulous quality about the whole thing, as if looking through misted glass. There were holes in the plot, and many characters lacked clarity. A pity. I love the Hebrides and the selkie mythology, but this book's shortcomings prevented me from really engaging with it.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Vigilantius

Strong, driving dual-narratives

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2017

Verified Purchase

One island: Harris, in the Outer Hebrides; two related obsessions with Seal People, in the 1860s and in the 2010s; and three people who are broken and gradually re-made by what they discover. Secrets of the Sea House lives up to its billing as a haunting tale of loss and homecoming.

Often I find that a novel with dual-time narratives, set a long time apart, suffers because one story - typically, the older one - is much more compelling than the other. But this is not the case here.

The contemporary story is about Ruth, a young mother-to-be who is burdenned by the apparent suicide of her mother and by shadowy memories of the children’s home she was brought up in. A strange baby corpse is found buried beneath Ruth and her gentle husband’s house in Harris, which begins to prey on Ruth’s fragile mind. But this is not a horror story. It is about excavating the literal and psychological past in order to free the present.

I loved the cleverly linked nineteenth century narrative about a good but hopelessly naive clergyman and the two young women who fall in love with him on rugged and remote Harris. There are brilliant short passages about the hardship of crofting life and fascinating, practical insights, as when the prospective visit of the laird’s daughter fills the poor servant girl Moira with consternation, worrying about ‘Maggie Kintail’s chickens, which like to live under the bench near the fire ... not to mention the ram that ... still tries to get in through the back door.’

Disappointingly, after the opening chapters, the rugged, stark landscape of Harris features only a few times.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Marital Bliss

Cold, flat and disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 November 2018

Verified Purchase

I chose this title as i fancied an easy holiday read with a touch of the gothic. This seemed to tick the boxes. A promising premise, winter on a remote Scottish island, a macabre discovery, the fact it was said to be based on the diaries of an actual priest was particularly appealing.

What can I say, within the first few pages I was left completely cold. The prose was perfunctory, it felt laboured, as though the author struggled with every word. In short, it read like an instruction manual, functional, simplistic and just, cold.

Try as I might, I couldn’t make it much beyond the first 3 chapters. The characters just seemed flat and 2 dimensional.

Anyone hoping, as I was, for a flowery historical time slip in the vein of Kate Morton, or the successor to the suspicions of mr whicher, will likely be disappointed.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

A mystery that wasnt

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2021

Verified Purchase

I tried a sample of this book and was immediately intrigued by the mystery and mythology happening in both time periods.
It is a well written book and I enjoyed the descriptive passages, but the only characters I cared about played a fairly minor part in the book, those who were affected by the clearances.
As I went on through the book the mystery and the mythology were explained away and the whole book took on a different meaning based much more on reality which was a bit disappointing.
It did have a conclusive ending, I do hate books that have open endings, but I did feel the ending was overlong and drawn out.

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	DPReview Digital Photography	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Select Your Cookie Preferences

Buying Options

Follow the author

SECRETS OF THE SEA HOUSE

Product details

About the author

Elisabeth Gifford

Customer reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.