Audiobook12 hours
The Darkling Bride: A Novel
Written by Laura Andersen
Narrated by Sarah Jane Drummey
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library. But after meeting Aidan, the current Viscount Gallagher, and his enigmatic family, Carragh knows that her task will be more challenging than she'd thought.
Two decades before, Aidan's parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple's unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle.
The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers-and to Aidan-could she be the Darkling Bride's next victim?
Two decades before, Aidan's parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple's unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle.
The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers-and to Aidan-could she be the Darkling Bride's next victim?
Related to The Darkling Bride
Related audiobooks
A Most Intriguing Lady: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secrets of Thistle Cottage Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Familiars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Widow of Pale Harbor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Witch of Willow Hall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Widow of Rose House: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Witch's Daughter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deadly Hours Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vanished Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Angels Fear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mrs. Poe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dragonwyck Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Virgin Blue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House on Vesper Sands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Orphan of Cemetery Hill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Woman in the Mirror: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cottingley Secret: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mrs. England Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Women of the Dunes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Ones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Monsters of Rookhaven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Hidden Wonders: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Garden Spells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Orphan Witch: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Night Garden Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Last Daughter of York Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Mystery For You
Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Listen for the Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Murder: A Debutante Dropout Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crooked House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Suspect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unexpected Guest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Did I Kill You?: A Thriller Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lost Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One for the Money Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Lies in the Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If She Knew (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mother-Daughter Murder Night: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5None of This is True: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tell No One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Housekeeping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Tender Land Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One for the Money: A Stephanie Plum Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When No One Is Watching: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Darkling Bride
Rating: 4.186440662711864 out of 5 stars
4/5
59 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gallagher family returned to its home Deeprath Castle after an absence of twenty years following the untimely deaths of Aidan and Kyra's parents. Aidan, the lawful heir, proposes to place the castle in a historic trust, but he wants the library inventoried. His aunt hires Carragh Ryan to perform the job. The mystery goes back even further than that to the 19th century when Jenny Gallagher married Evan Chase, who appended the Gallagher name to his own so the heir would bear the surname. A local legend and ghost, the Darkling Bride, is also connected with the castle and its tower.There is plenty of mystery, romance, and suspense in this book with a modern setting that reminds readers of the great Gothic mystery/romantic suspense writers of the past such as Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Phyllis Whitney. Those who enjoyed those authors will enjoy this book and vice versa. Those who like books, manuscripts, and the like will also find it interesting. Genealogists will enjoy it because some genealogical methods are employed in the book. I liked the Garda detective in the story although she was not the one who ultimately solved the puzzle. I hope this book revitalizes the genre and that this author continues to contribute well-written volumes to it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wow; this gothic mystery has it all! There's an Irish legend, a family history mystery, a 700 year old Irish castle with its exquisite library, a cold-case police procedural, a twenty year old unsolved scavenger hunt, intrigue, ghostly and human mayhem and a bit of chaste romance. There are three time periods featured in alternating chapters and I was comfortably and thoroughly transported through each. Loved the story, the exquisitely atmospheric writing, and just could not put down the book until the end. If you're a fan of Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart or classic gothic mysteries in general, then this is a book for you!Synopsis (from book's dust jacket):This spellbinding novel from the award-winning author of the Boleyn King trilogy travels to the Irish countryside, where three generations of one noble family must face the truth about their history their mysteries, and their destiny.The Gallagher family has called Deeprath Castle home for seven hundred years. Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, the estate is now slated to become a public trust, and book lover and scholar Carragh Ryan is hired to take inventory of its historic library. But after meeting Aidan, the current Viscount Gallagher, and his enigmatic family, Carragh knows that her task will be more challenging than she’d thought.Two decades before, Aidan’s parents died violently at Deeprath. The case, which was never closed, has recently been taken up by a new detective determined to find the truth. The couple’s unusual deaths harken back a century, when twenty-three-year-old Lady Jenny Gallagher also died at Deeprath under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind an infant son and her husband, a renowned writer who never published again. These incidents only fueled fantastical theories about the Darkling Bride, a local legend of a sultry and dangerous woman from long ago whose wrath continues to haunt the castle.The past catches up to the present, and odd clues in the house soon have Carragh wondering if there are unseen forces stalking the Gallagher family. As secrets emerge from the shadows and Carragh gets closer to answers—and to Aidan—could she be the Darkling Bride’s next victim?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was a quick read and has everything a Gothic story should have. A remote Irish castle, a old library that needs archiving, a deep dark family secret, and a handsome lord to fall in love with.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Darkling Bride by Laura AndersenSource: NetgalleyMy Rating: 5/5 starsTucked away in the Wicklow Mountains of Ireland, Deeprath Castle has a long, sad history of love, legend, blood, and myths. The most pervasive of the myths revolves around a beautiful and doomed woman whose legend has been so strong as to survives centuries and seemingly impact the lives of her descendants. Several centuries later . . . .Aidan Gallagher’s family has lived under a curse for the entirety of his life. As a child, his parents were violently murdered, he and his sister were raised by their cold and tremendously proud aunt, and as an adult all are separated and distant. With the family manor, Deeprath Castle being the common denominator, Aidan feels he has no choice but to unload the castle on the state as an historic/heritage site. Before the transfer can happen, however, Aidan and his aunt want the family library catalogued with the intent of donating the contents with the exception of personal/family documents. Carragh Ryan has spent the vast majority of her young life in the service of books. When the opportunity to catalogue the famed Gallagher/Deeprath Castle collection presents itself, she jumps at the chance! According to her contract, Carragh is to reside in the castle for the duration of the job and confine her activities to the library. With no objections, Carragh packs her bags and gets to work within hours of her arrival. The library is vast, her employers are standoffish at best, and Carragh is absolutely certain the castle is haunted. Within days of her arrival, the double portrait of the Darkling Bride in her bedroom has been moved leaving Carragh with a great sense of unease and more than a few questions. Though Carragh finds Aidan attractive, he isn’t the easiest of men to approach. Her questions relate directly to his family, but not her job so broaching certain subjects seems somewhat risky. As it happens, Aidan quite likes Carragh and as they begin to work together, Aidan becomes more willing to open up and share stories of his family’s past and the myths and legend surrounding Deeprath Castle and the Wicklow Mountains.With each conversation, Carragh becomes more attached to Aidan and even more involved in the mystery surrounding Deeprath Castle and her Darkling Bride. What’s more, with each new bit of evidence uncovered, Carragh becomes convinced the ancient legend is, in fact tied to the death of Aidan’s parents. With each step closer to the truth, Carragh finds herself in danger. Her safety and her freedom are threatened before all is said and done with her only ally being Aidan Gallagher. The Bottom Line: What a wonderfully dark read is Lauren Andersen’s The Darkling Bride. From start to finish I was absolutely and thoroughly invested in this read. The legend of the Darkling Bride is woven into every aspect of the story, from the setting, to the characters, to the mystery. She is always present and truly feeds the entirety of the story which makes it all the more entertaining. I didn’t want to put this book down and was heartbroken in the best possible way by the resolution to the rather Gothic tale. This is an early favorite for 2018 and one I heartily recommend.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was such an enjoyable read! Telling the story of one family's history over several hundred years it included a wonderful castle that became a character of the book, amazing landscapes, interesting history, great characters, a bit of romance and a mystery that kept me guessing. It had all the components of a great book that I love and it definitely delivered a really great read. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.