Staff review - The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey

Here's library staff member Angharad with a review of 'The Animals at Lockwood Manor' by Jane Healey.

Dyma Angharad gyda'i barn am 'The Animals at Lockwood Manor' gan Jane Healey.

When Hetty Cartwright is charged with the safekeeping of The Natural History Museum’s mammal collection during its evacuation to its temporary home at Lockwood Manor, she believes the biggest threat to the precious taxidermy animals is the destruction of war. But as pieces begin to mysteriously vanish, only to reappear all over the manor, she begins to wonder if the rumours of ghosts and curses surrounding Lockwood are true.

The premise of this book is very much in the same vein as The Silent Companions and The Miniaturist, so if you enjoyed the mystery (and creepy moving objects) elements of those books, I would recommend this one.
What sets The Animals of Lockwood Manor apart however is its romance, which is a conscientious depiction of a sapphic relationship during the difficult period of the 1940’s, where war, class and patriarchal obstacles stand between women and their dreams.

Though at its heart a gothic romance, with a few dark events and buried secrets revealed later in the story, The Animals of Lockwood Manor carries a lighter tone than some of its predecessors, so for if you’re looking for deeper chills, this is maybe not the right tale. Mystery-lovers hoping for something a little more eerie won’t be disappointed however.