Although I found it difficult to class this book in a particular genre I found that I was hooked on it right from the start, partly, I think, because it was so difficult to classify.

Jo is part of a group of friends who have been close since they were at Oxford together. When Lucas comes into a massive inheritance the group begin to spend weekends and holidays at the imposing country estate that soon becomes his full time home. Simmering attraction between Lucas and Jo brings them together but Lucas's drinking and his falling under the spell of Danny, the wildest and most unpredictable of the group, soon forces them apart. But the house seems to have a hold over the whole group that slowly breaks it apart and eventually leads to a tragedy.

I liked the characters in this book, found them to be believable, flawed but charming and real. Whitehouse writes well and with confidence and that helped to draw me into the story right from the start. I was very keen to find out what happened to the friends as their long-term relationships broke down and fractured and was also keen to find out what kind of book I was reading (ghost story? murder mystery? both?) I am already keen to read more by this author but this is her first book so I am hoping that the wait won't be too long. I would recommend it as a gripping and interesting read.

It is compared on the cover to Rebecca and there are similarities to The Secret History but would add a word of caution to anyone expecting a copy or a book of those standards - don't read it expecting those stories retold. It isn't the same and it should be read on it's own merits. ( )

This is one of the best books that I have read so far in 2009. I had heard quite a lot about this book before I bought it, especially the comparisons to The Secret History and Rebecca. I believe that it is definitely worthy of those comparisons but in no way is Lucie Whitehouse trying to copy those books; her storytelling has very much a style of it's own.
Lucas inherits Stoneborough Manor from his Uncle, both of Lucas' parents are dead and he is haunted by the suicide of his uncle who had been a father-figure. However, Lucas decides to use Stoneborough as a place where he and his small group of friends can escape to from their busy lives in London. The group of friends is incredibly close and the relationships between them are all extremely intricate.
Lucas gradually becomes increasingly obsessed with Stoneborough and with the cine films that he finds of his Uncle and his friends in their heyday. The similarities to Lucas and his group are startling and the secrets they reveal come to have a bearing on all of them.
This book had me gripped from the very start, the suspense stays with you right until the last page. Even when events in the story take a positive turn you know that something must be waiting just round the corner. The house plays a pivotal role in the book; I love books set in large houses with their many secrets and memories hidden away in the attic just waiting to be discovered. This was a really excellent book, especially as it is Whitehouse's first novel, I hope she writes many more!

A magnificent debut by Lucie Whitehouse, The House at Midnight will keep you up long into the night turning the pages. A modern gothic splashed with romance and suspense, this novel will wrap its dark magic around you.

On a bitterly cold winters night, New Year’s Eve, seven friends from college meet at Stoneborough, a grand manor in the English countryside. Lucas Heathfield recently inherited the manor after the shocking, tragic death of his Uncle Patrick. Hoping the manor will become their escape from London to relax, he invites all of his friends to make themselves at home there every weekend. Danny, Rachel, Martha and Michael, plus Rachel’s new boyfriend Greg, feel nothing sinister about the place like Jo does.

Joanna is the narrator of the story, a junior reporter at the Putney Gazette. She’s had a crush on Lucas for years throughout college, but knows they are only friends. Lucas finds himself making small passes at Joanna in the dark shadows of the manor. Much to her surprise, he reveals that he’s loved her for years , and she is only too happy to respond.

Soon, Danny gets fired and Lucas gives up his job, and becomes obsessed by old films showing his mother, father and uncle enjoying Stoneborough Manor. Danny gets fired, and as Lucas’s best friend, soon moves into the manor with Lucas. Jo feels her dreams are being destroyed by Danny’s increased influence on Lucas, who is still struggling to absorb Patrick’s death.

Joanna is distraught after Danny accuses her of only being after Lucas for his money, and becomes frustrated when Lucas seems oblivious to Danny’s attacks. She retreats, not devious enough to outmatch Danny’s malice. Jo’s uneasiness sharpens when she accidentally sees Greg and Rachel together. When their mutual attraction results in a fiery embrace, it is the beginning of the end for the group.

An inseparable companion, Stoneborough emits the misery of its inhabitants as though absorbing their pain. Well-plotted, finely honed characters give way to a shattering conclusion of violence. Newcomer Lucie Whitehouse has written a tense and captivating story that will linger long after the final, shocking pages.

The House at Midnight is the first novel by British author Lucie Whitehouse. Neo-Gothic in tone, the story is primarily about the relationships between seven friends from college: Joanna (the narrator), Lucas, Danny, Michael, Martha, Rachel, and Greg. When Lucas inherits Stoneborough Manor from his uncle Patrick, he encourages his friends to treat the mysterious old house as their own. Soon, Joanna finds herself in a romantic relationship with Lucas, he decides to move in with his parasitic friend Danny, and things get trickier when Joanna discovers Rachel and Greg in a compromising position on the floor one night.

There’s a whole slew of interchangeable (and sticky) relationships between these seven characters, characterized by a lot of drinking and drug-taking. It took the author six years to write, and I get the feeling that she began the novel thinking that she originally intended the characters to be younger than they eventually turned out to be. Although approaching the age of thirty, all of these people act as though they’re still in college and trying to figure out their lives. The novel is heavy on the relationships between these characters and not so heavy on character development and plot. Even Joanna, the narrator, isn’t a particularly attractive character; she’s a little bland, and blasé about her career, relationships, and future.

I picked up this novel because I thought that this would be a Gothic type of novel, similar to Barbara Vine’s work; but the key to writing a Gothic novel is using subtlety, which this book doesn’t have. It seems as though the reader is repeatedly hit over the head with how eerie Stoneborough Manor is, or appears to be. Also, the ending, while truly unexpected, seemed a little bit tacked-on. I give the author props for writing about what she knows best, and for the intriguing premise of the novel; but the execution of that premise ultimately falls flat. This book has been compared to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History; and while I see superficial similarities between the two books, The House at Midnight doesn’t even come close to the other. ( )

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