The House of Brides – Jane Cockram

The House of Brides is Australian author Jane Cockram’s debut novel.
Cockram is originally from the publishing industry and whilst spending a year in the West Country of England she wrote her novel. The House of Brides is set in a small countryside town of England.

I always look forward to reading an author’s debut novel. It can either be a great disappointment or you may be adding a new love to your library. Full disclosure, the cover is what caught my attention and the title, and based on that I decided to give it a try. Only bothered to do some reading up on Cockram after purchasing the book. Sometimes, taking a chance on a book can pay off.

The House of Brides is a psychological suspense novel, and although I enjoyed it, I can’t disregard the fact that it lacked some dramatic moments. Every time a tense situation arises and I think ‘Ok, this is it, here comes the bang’, the scene would dissolve into nothing.
When I started the book it reminded me very much of the movie, Dark Shadows by Tim Burton – an infamous family that basically runs the small town they live in, the main character takes on a nanny position at the mansion to escape her old life, and one of the children, a boy, believes in ghosts. But of course this story (House of Brides) has nothing to do with an avenging witch and a well-spoken vampire. Well, there is an avenging witch in House of Brides just not the magic kind. I may be digressing!

I wish Cockram had flavoured the story with more suspense. The storyline was built for it but just fell short in some instances.
I guess I’m on the fence, however, her writing style is great and appreciated. I am not disappointed by this novel, I was just hoping for a little more.
I do look forward to what she will produce next. I believe there is potential to be great.

Blurb

I will always stand by the notion that one should be able to give the plot of a book in only a few lines, leaving the potential reader curious and wanting to read the book. So here I go.

The House of Brides involves a young woman, Miranda, who has made several mistakes in her life and has been constantly ridiculed for it. Her mother died when she was young, but her legacy was a best selling novel she wrote, The House of Brides. The story is a tell-all book, in the way of fiction, about their famous family, the Summers, but more specifically the women who have married into the family.

Women who portrayed themselves as strong for self-preservation but seem to meet suspicious and unfortunate deaths. Miranda, wants to escape her life and goes in search of who she is and who her mother was in this infamous family.