House of Silence

 House of Silence by Linda Gillard

Gwen Rowland, with no family after losing hers to alcohol, drugs, and aids, convinces her boyfriend, Alfie, to take her with him to his family Christmas gathering. He warns her she might be sorry she asked, but agrees and they head off to his family's slightly run down old country house. There she meets his four sisters and his mother, a famous author who stays in her bedroom unable to quite distinguish between the past and present. 

Gwen sees a change in Alfie once he is around his family and is a bit unsettled by how he treats them. When she finds and reads some old family letters, she realizes that something is not right. The family story she's been told appears to be a cover for things Alfie and his sisters don't want her to know. 

It's a  mystery/family saga/romance with lots of twists and turns and interesting characters. It maintains a good pace, moving perhaps a little too quickly in the latter part where the revelations all come out at once, but staying, if just barely, within the realm of credibility. After hurtling toward the end, it stops suddenly with everyone, including the reader, wondering what's next. In spite of that, maybe even a little because of it, it was a good read and one I recommend.

I just wish there was one more chapter.