The House by the Sea

Written by Louise Douglas

Narrated by Emma Powell

*The Top 5 Bestseller*

The new chilling and captivating novel from the bestselling author of Richard & Judy pick The Secrets Between Us.

When Edie’s mother-in-law, Anna DeLuca, dies, she is relieved. Edie blames Anna for the accident that destroyed her family. So, when her will lures Edie to Sicily and the long-abandoned Villa della Madonna del Mare, she sees through Anna’s games.

Suspecting Anna is meddling from beyond the grave to try to reunite her and her ex-husband Joe, Edie is determined to leave Italy as soon as possible. But before she can, the villa starts to shed its mysterious secrets.

Who are the girls beside Anna in her childhood photos, and why has one of them been scratched out? Why does someone, or something, want them to leave the past untouched? The villa is a place where old ghosts feel at home, but does their legacy need to be laid to rest before Edie and Joe can move on…

Bestselling author Louise Douglas returns with a captivating, chilling and unforgettable tale of betrayal, jealousy and the mysteries hidden in every family history.

Praise for Louise Douglas

'Louise Douglas achieves the impossible and gets better with every book.' Milly Johnson

'A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down. The vivid descriptions, the evocative plot and the intrigue that Louise created, which had me constantly asking questions, made it a highly enjoyable, absolute treasure of a read.' Kim Nash on The Scarlet Dress

'Another stunning read from the exceptionally talented Louise Douglas! I love the way in which Louise creates such an atmospheric mystery, building the intrigue and suspense brick by brick. Her writing is always beautiful and multi-layered, her characters warm and relatable and the intriguing nature of the mystery makes this unputdownable.’ Nicola Cornick on The Scarlet Dress

'A tender, heart-breaking, page-turning read'Rachel Hore on The House by the Sea

'The perfect combination of page-turning thriller and deeply emotional family story. Superb’ Nicola Cornick on The House by the Sea

‘Kept me guessing until the last few pages and the explosive ending took my breath away.' C.L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Your Beautiful Lies

‘Beautifully written, chillingly atmospheric and utterly compelling, The Secret by the Lake is Louise Douglas at her brilliant best’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Broken

‘A master of her craft, Louise Douglas ratchets up the tension in this haunting and exquisitely written tale of buried secrets and past tragedy.’ Amanda Jennings, author of Sworn Secret

‘A clammy, atmospheric and suspenseful novel, it builds in tension all the way through to the startling final pages.’ Sunday Express, S Magazine

'A chilling, unputdownable new novel from the bestselling author of The House By The Sea.

'A brilliantly written, gripping, clever, compelling story, that I struggled to put down.'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boldwood Books
• Release date: Feb 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781838892753

Louise Douglas

Louise Douglas is an RNA award winner and the bestselling author of several brilliantly reviewed novels. These include the number one bestseller The Lost Notebook, and the The Secrets Between Us which was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. She lives in the West Country.

Reviews for The House by the Sea

[K G · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars rounded down due more to my own preferences than poor writing. This is much more a cozy beach read than a dark haunting mystery. Also, there are a few too many tropes looped in making it seem as thought the author was determined to check ever box.
The story help my attention for a good 3/4 of the story before veering into lifetime movie territory.
All and all it was just ok, not awful, but not memorable.
Solid narration other than the way she over emphasized some Italian words and names… British accent and rolling r’s… the story won’t stay with me, but rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrromano will…

[Kent · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just discovered Louise Douglas’ books. The third Ive heard. Whilst some parts of the plot could be guessed, theres also a frisson of intrigue. Enjoy!

[Anna Lavan · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Gave it a chance and eventually gave up around chapter 28. Book is boring and the characters are not likeable. Also felt it was very cliche and simple writing

[Peter Heicksen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book does not feel like a thriller or even a mystery. Almost everything we "find out" at the end was obvious from the moment the first part of the narrative was introduced. The story relies on the main characters being rather dim witted and weak. More than anything this is a somewhat depressing book about grief, anger, relationships and forgiveness. The wordsmithing itself is high quality. The narration is good. But the mystery part of the storyline was so completely predictable that I am fairly certain I will forget I even listened to this book within the week. It should be marketed differently - not as a mystery or a thriller. Market it simply as contemporary women's fiction and it will be more satisfying to those who choose to consume it.

[Grace L · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I couldn't connect with this book. From the blurb and the cover I thought I was getting a kind of gothic mystery but it fell flat. The story is pretty predictable, slow and, near the end, it rushes with some twists. In my opinion, the book dealt more with the process of healing after a tragedy (and the character development was not very deep) than with the mystery itself. Not what I was looking for.