By Alison Clare
Publisher: Next Level Books, 2023
Publisher’s blurb
In the spring of 1919, a young man assumes the alias of Marsden Fisher and travels to Maidenstone Hall, the Yorkshire country residence of the Earl and Countess of Scarborough, to tutor their daughter Alice. Searching for the truth about the death of his lover, Alice’s late brother Simon, Marsden arrives to find that nothing is as he expected it to be. The house has been half destroyed by fire, the family’s financial ruin is imminent, and only a small core of frightened but loyal servants remain to serve them.
Alice and her twin sister Beatrice are feuding so terribly that they cannot be in the same room together. It is clear the family is hiding a terrible secret and the lies surrounding Simon’s death convince Marsden to fear for his own safety. The longer he stays at Maidenstone, the more he fears the family will discover his true identity and his relationship with Simon, but Marsden cannot leave until he discovers the truth: about Simon, and the terrible screams that echo through the Hall at midnight.
Review
by Sandra Thom Jones
In the aftermath of World War One, Marsden Fisher is seeking the truth about the disappearance of his lover, Simon Falconer. He knows that he did not die in battle, the story that Simon’s family present to the world. Serendipity presents him with an opportunity to travel to the country residence of Simon’s family. At Maidenstone Hall, Marsden takes on the role of tutor to Alice, Simon’s younger sister, and the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Scarborough.
What is the terrible secret hidden within the walls of this fire-damaged mansion? Why do the evidently frightened servants collude with the family to hide it from Marsden, and from the rest of the world?
If you are like me, you will get a few chapters in and think to yourself ‘aha, I have worked it out!’ and smugly wonder why the author thought it would remain a secret to the experienced mystery reader. But don’t get too comfortable. Like the gothic novels it emulates, this book holds more than one secret. Marsden himself has things to hide from the residents of Maidenstone Hall, secrets they could use against him.
Can Marsden keep his own secret safe while he slowly uncovers the web of those hidden by Simon Falconer’s family, and by the walls and gardens of his childhood home? What really happened to Simon? Why are the servants so frightened but so loyal? What is the connection between the Carlisle’s daughter Grace and Lord and Lady Scarborough?
This is WA-born Alison Clare’s long-awaited debut novel, released in late 2023. Alison is a poet, editor and short-story writer, who introduced us to Maidstone Hall in a reading of an early draft posted on Facebook back in June 2017.
The characters in this novel, like the plot and like Maidenstone Hall itself, have depth and diversity. There are parts that are visible on the surface and some that are hidden from sight, parts that are pleasant and bright and others that are dark and disturbing. I found some aspects of the plot and denouement a little jarring, and wished the author had made some different choices, but at the same time I found the writing style enjoyable. The many twists and turns kept me eager to join Marsden in uncovering the secrets of Midnight at Maidenstone Hall.