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The Animals at Lockwood Manor

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The Animals at Lockwood Manor

By: Jane Healey
Narrated by: Sarah Lambie
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About this listen

Deeply gripping and darkly atmospheric, The Animals at Lockwood Manor is a tale of long-buried secrets and hidden desires by Jane Healey.

Winner of the HWA Debut Crown Award 2020

Some secrets are unspoken. Others are unspeakable . . .

August 1939. As the Second World War looms, thirty-year-old Hetty Cartwright is tasked with the evacuation and safekeeping of the natural history museum’s famous collection of mammals. But once she and her exhibits arrive at Lockwood Manor, Hetty soon realizes that she’s taken on more than she’d bargained for . . .

Protecting her priceless animals from the irascible Lord Lockwood and resentful servants is hard enough, but when a series of mysterious events occur, Hetty begins to suspect someone – or something – is stalking her through the darkened corridors of the gothic mansion.

As her fears build, Hetty finds herself falling under the spell of Lucy, Lord Lockwood’s beautiful but haunted daughter. But why is Lucy so traumatized? Does she know something she’s not telling? And is there any truth to local rumours of ghosts and curses?

'Atmospheric and disquieting . . . an ideal book club read' – A J Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird

 20th Century Gothic Historical Historical Fiction Horror Literature & Fiction Romance Scary Haunted

Critic reviews

Jane Healey’s excellent debut novel is a rich story full of tension and darkness. The star of the novel is the claustrophobic Manor itself, which casts a shadow over every page and hides a truly horrible secret. Atmospheric and disquieting, The Animals at Lockwood Manor is an ideal book club read (A J Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird)
An eerie puzzle box of a book . . . a deeply consuming read and a fantastic novel to get lost in (Erika Swyler)
Such a vivid, beautiful but haunting story, with a thread of darkness running through it . . . I was thoroughly engrossed (Cressida McLaughlin)
This story will keep you captivated
Hypnotic . . . Will keep you emotionally invested to the end
Absorbing, atmospheric
In this modern gothic, animals disappear, chilling screams pierce the night, and tales of abuse and madness abound. An appropriately horrific conclusion is worthy of the genre's best storytellers
All stars
Most relevant
The reading was beautiful, Sarah’s voice is so easy to listen to, however I found it was difficult to distinguish between the female characters sometimes. The story was also very slow, and not a lot happens until the end.

Great but...

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Beautifully written and read. Good, keep you guessing story. Sensitive and sensuous in places. Starts a little slowly but don’t be put off.

Lovely

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went on a bit. a little derivative. all the ingredients for a good story but didn't quite come together

it's ok

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Thank goodness this story is so well crafted that it kept me hooked as I’m afraid the narrator had a dull style.


dreary narration but wonderfully written story

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