The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is my first Hester Fox book, though after this it certainly won’t be my last. The setting is 1925 London and a woman finds herself the sole heir to an old estate in Yorkshire, an estate that has been owned by a very distant branch of her family. With little tying her to London and a legal demand requiring her to live on the estate, she heads up to Yorkshire and walks straight into a tale so perfectly crafted that I could not put it down.

The pacing and structure of this novel are so beautifully chosen (there’s a specific reason I picked that word, those who have read it will know) and it makes it near impossible not to argue with Ivy’s decisions. In a good way, of course, though I wish she was a little better at picking the men she was interested in. I was screaming at her for a solid 80% of the book. This sounds ridiculous, but it has to do with the structure and plotting of the book and this all amounts to good storytelling.

I love Ralph to bits. Susan is also a real one, I would trust her with my life. The relationships and dynamics of this book make the tension and direction of the action so interesting to follow and I could not put this book down. I hate to know what happened next and I had to get to the ending. The revelations that the reader finds out along the way make this such an immersive, emotional-invested read and you too will be trying to shout at Ivy. I hope one reason you pick up the book is solely to yell at her.

The description and themes within this book are so sharp and atmospheric, really leaning into the idea of a small-town home to this ancient haunted house, the dust still kicking up into the air as the characters walk by, and it makes you feel like you are there watching the action and feeling the emotions like everyone else. Not only does it get the time right, being in 1920s England, but the unsettling eeriness of the house too, pairing together to create this sensation of stepping into the past. There are very few authors that I believe can do what Hester Fox does in this book and I implore you to read The Last Heir to Blackwood Library and find out why. I want to talk about it so badly!

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library is a perfect autumn read with the power to trap you in your seat and demand your full attention. Don’t forget to add this to your TBRs and library requests, you never know what will happen if you do…