House of Splinters, Laura Purcell
House of Splinters, Laura Purcell
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House of Splinters

Author: Laura Purcell

Narrator: Juanita McMahon

Unabridged: 12 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/10/2026

Synopsis

Named a Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year by The Sunday Times (UK)House of Splinters is the long-awaited prequel to bestselling and multi-award-winning author Laura Purcell’s gothic horror classic, The Silent Companions.Not every house is a home …Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband, Wilfred, and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home together: born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before, while their young son, Freddy, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures—so-called “silent companions”—that were once owned by his ancestors.When Wilfred’s charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family’s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?And are Belinda’s children truly safe here?

About Laura Purcell

Laura Purcell is an award-winning former bookseller living in Colchester, Essex, with her husband and pet guinea pigs. She is the author of novels including The Silent Companions, which was a Radio 2 and Zoe Ball ITV Book Club pick, and The Shape of Darkness, winner of the inaugural Fingerprint Award for Historical Crime Book of the Year. Her short stories have been included in The Haunting Season and The Winter Spirits anthologies, which were both instant Sunday Times bestsellers. She also wrote Roanoake Falls, a dramatic podcast for Realm, working with John Carpenter and Sandy King Carpenter. Her novel The Whispering Muse was the 2023 winner of The Dracula Society’s Children of the Night Award. 

About Juanita McMahon

Juanita McMahon is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a professionally trained actress with experience in theater, television, and film productions, including the critically acclaimed Control, which won the BIFA Best British Film Award.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on April 17, 2026

Every so often, you stumble upon a gothic novel that doesn't just tell you a creepy story—it gets under your skin and refuses to leave. House of Splinters did exactly that to me. The second Belinda Bainbridge walks into The Bridge, Laura Purcell had me completely hooked. The atmosphere is so heavy a......more

Goodreads review by Debra on January 04, 2026

Gripping, haunting, chilling, dripping with atmosphere and creepy vibes, Laura Purcell once again delivers with House of Splinters. As with her previous books, House of Splinters is beautifully written, well thought out, dark, and brooding. I loved the setting, the eerie vibe, the foreboding, and th......more

Goodreads review by Theresa on May 12, 2025

I absolutely loved this return to the gothic world of THE SILENT COMPANIONS. It’s a compelling and imaginative ghost story that kept me turning the pages long into the night. The author evokes a wonderful sense of time and place, and keeps you fully invested in the fates of the characters. A real sp......more

Goodreads review by Sadie on November 21, 2025

3.5 I need to unpack this in a full review--The Silent Companions set the bar sooooo high......more

Goodreads review by Indieflower on February 19, 2026

A prequel of sorts to The Silent Companions, chock full of gothic shenanigans and suitably mysterious and creepy. Entertaining and satisfying, 4 stars.......more

Quotes

“House of Splinters is everything you would expect from Laura Purcell’s return to the world of The Silent Companions: spine-chilling and malevolent, with the eerie companions making up only a part of a mystery involving family grievances, inheritances, and resentful locals. A twisty, sinister read.” Rosie Andrews, Sunday Times bestselling author

“Laura’s books are always an enormous treat, and this one is no exception. It is so beautifully vivid, claustrophobic, and macabre—and it balances the picturesque and the horrifying perfectly…A real pleasure.” Bridget Collins, Sunday Times bestselling author

“Laura Purcell’s follow-up to The Silent Companions is everything I wanted it to be. Return to The Bridge, with its eerie wooden companions and sinister happenings around the old house. It’s exactly the right blend of dusty glamour and mystery, and cozy-shiver scary.” Natasha Pulley, author of The Mars House 

“Perfect for readers who like their historical fiction with creaking floorboards, buried secrets, and a steady sense that the house itself is watching.” Rome (GA) News-Tribune

“As a horror fan, you’ve probably already heard of Laura Purcell’s 2017 novel The Silent Companions. Now, nearly a decade later, Purcell is returning with a prequel set one hundred years earlier.” Book Riot

“I just love her books!” Best in Show Books

Awards

  • London Sunday Times Pick
  • Book Riot Pick
  • Rome News-Tribune Pick
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