Dunmoor Gothic Horror, British Fiction, Horror
Indpendently Published
Nov 29, 2021
Kindle
355
Amazon
Lush gothic horror from bestselling author London Clarke, Dunmoor is a tale of generational curses that threaten to destroy the most innocent and vulnerable.
England, 1818. Lady Helena Winters hasn’t seen her husband in over a year—not since he disappeared without a trace. Torn between seeking a new purpose for her life and longing for her husband to return, Helena travels with her father to Dunmoor House for a fundraising ball. Although the estate was once her husband’s ancestral home, it has recently been purchased by Luke Lennox, a gentleman planning to establish a foundling hospital.
Helena quickly finds herself battling memories of life with her husband and searching for answers to what might have happened to him. Even so, she is drawn to Luke Lennox and his dream of saving and educating children—a passion she shares.
Within Dunmoor’s decaying walls lies a long and sordid history, a legacy of evildoers perpetrating unspeakable acts of wickedness. Now, the corridors echo with voices. Vines grow inside the house, and shadowy figures plague the children at night.
But in the dark forest on the edge of the property, a terrible secret awaits, and what Luke and Helena uncover there will endanger both their lives.
Review By S.C. Principale
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Dunmoor is not a light, happy Regency read. If you heard Regency and thought of Bridgerton—run now. This is not for you. Dunmoor is atmospheric, dark, sinister, and interwoven with supernatural and real life horrors. London Clarke is a master of Gothic horror, but this book pushes the envelope and is a challenge to navigate. Heaps of horror, myriads of minor characters, and a half-a dozen subplots will give you a literary work out. If that’s your thing, you’ll love this book.
Lady Helena Winters can’t believe that her husband has vanished, supposedly leaving her for a scandalous affair. An educated woman with a good heart, Helena can’t believe the rumors are true, and ends up searching for her bad boy poet (based on Lord Byron according to the author’s note). Her father’s dealings and insistence that she stop wallowing in her loss take her to Dunmoor, Lord Winters’ childhood home. The estate is now in possession of Luke Lennox.
Dunmoor is being turned into a foundling hospital, what we would think of as an orphanage in the modern day. Helena is drawn to Luke, a handsome man with a good heart and a passion for saving and educating children. Not only that, but he’s lost his own betrothed, making this an ideal pairing. The romance between Helena and Luke leads readers along as they dive into the real main character of the book— Dunmoor itself. The house is riddled with secret passages, rumors of disappearing people, children and adults catch glimpses of ghostly figures… and there are figures in the woods that are slowly trying to consume the house. Tree-like beings with staring knothole eyes and human forms that morph into creeping vines invade the house and appear to people, leaving vines behind. It may not sound creepy here, but I almost screamed while reading.
In alternating perspectives, Helena and Luke discover the dark secrets of the house and Lord Winters’ past. In particular, that Drake Winters was in love with his older half-sister and it seems they consummated the relationship. Helena is horrified. She wants to leave Dunmoor at once, but at the same time, she finds herself drawn to Luke and the idea of starting a new life that could be purposeful. For one thing, the isolated charity would allow her to educate the orphans and teach math, something she could never do as a well-bred lady in other circumstances.
When Helena forces herself to leave, her father and a young girl, Lucy, in tow, they are set upon by highwaymen. Lucy escapes their attack by running into the woods, and the driver manages to save Helena from attempted rape. But Lucy doesn’t return from the woods. Helena remains in the area to search for Lucy, but Luke, after a truly horrifying night where spirits of women and maddening voices torment him, leaves Dunmoor for London. As Helena eventually helps out at Dunmoor while searching for Lucy, she comes across a man who explains that the demons of the forest have the girl. Indeed, they have all the people who have their names carved on the tree Helena is near. Helena sees Drake and Augusta’s names. The mysterious man says they managed to escape, but any other children belong to the forrest now, their flesh and blood are food for what lives in the dark, evil woods. Again, Helena sees the tree-like figure approaching her, but she’s saved just in time.
Soon, Helena hears from a benefactress, Lady Persephone. One of the orphans that Luke and Helena helped to find work is being abused by the employer. There is more to it that Lady Perselphone won’t say. For the sake of saving the children, Luke and Helena reunite and follow Persephone’s advice to discover what is happening. What they uncover is just the start of a horrid tale of human trafficking, sexual slavery, madness, and demon worship that stretches across England.The heart of it is in teh Black Friars Forest, the woods at Dunmoor. Monsters and men alike are the villains of this piece.
With Drake believed dead and the truth uncovered, Helena and Luke race to break the curse of Dunmoor, burning the defiled forest and much of the property. Will this be a new, clean start for them?
No. On the last page, a note arrives for Helena, with a poem from Drake. He is still very much alive. Helena is not free of him, and he may not be free of the curse. The story continues in the next book, and hopefully our burning questions will be answered.
GHOSTS/HORROR/PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY/DARK FANTASY/OCCULT/GOTHIC/SCI-FI
