The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey

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Content warning for child abuse.

I loved this book. Just loved it! I put it on hold simply because the cover is amazing and the story turned out to be perfect. Set in 1939 during the air raids, the taxidermy mammal collection at the London Museum is relocated to Lockwood Manor. What should be a relatively simple assignment for Hetty Cartwright, hired to oversee the collection and maintain it’s safety, turns out to be far more complicated. Rowdy parties threaten the safety of the animals, animals go missing, damage from pests and the environment make for constant work for Hetty. Living under the roof of Major Lockwood is also far from a simple task. His domineering demeanor, womanizing, and constant belittling of Hetty makes for a stressful and tenuous partnership. When Lucy Lockwood, daughter of the Major, shows an interest in the collection, her and Hetty become instant friends. Lucy and Hetty begin to spend more and more time together, each supporting the other during difficult days. Lucy is fragile and recently lost both her mother and grandmother in a tragic accident. Dreams of a mysterious room haunt her nights and threaten her tenuous hold on reality. Lucy isn’t the only one experiencing odd dreams and disturbing events. Something is wandering the halls of Lockwood Manor. Something is moving the animals and driving off the staff. Something wants Hetty. 

This story had that wonderful balance of mystery elements and romance. Hetty knows her entire career balances on the success of the museum collection’s relocation and maintaining it’s safety. We know from the very beginning that Lucy’s mother and grandmother have a tragic accident and their death isn’t all that upsetting to Lucy’s father. The Major quickly takes up a series of romantic partners and the combined stress of a potential stepmother, the war, and grief have set Lucy’s nerves on edge. The staff very quietly discusses Lucy’s “bad turns” and are not surprised about her emotional outbursts. It’s as Hetty and Lucy’s friendship deepens that Hetty begins to believe that there is more to Lucy’s nightmares than just being emotionally fragile. There is an air of oppression and the feeling of being watched that permeates the atmosphere of the Manor. Hetty is convinced that she is beginning to go mad and spends hours wandering the Manor looking for animals that have been moved. A stuffed jaguar doesn’t just get up and walk away folks. The Major’s constant belittling of Hetty and reminding her of her tenuous position with the museum only add to her agitation and stress, making it more and more difficult to gauge her own sanity. It’s all done so well.

I loved the descriptions of Lockwood Manor and how immense it sounded. With four floors and dozens and dozens of rooms, the staff is constantly cleaning, scrubbing, sweeping, and repairing. Something is always leaking, the windows and roof need work, and it becomes incredibly cold as winter begins. As it’s 1939 with a war going on, there’s also the constant checking of the blackout curtains and the power goes out frequently. There’s also the mysterious blue room that several people have dreams about. The need to find the blue room does drive one of the darkest parts of the book and is quite disturbing. Due to the Lockwood’s wealth and social position, they are not subject to the same types of war rationing that others are and that becomes incredibly clear during a lavish dinner. I love rich people problems and hearing Hetty’s insights into the amount of illegal foods served during the dinner was fascinating. 

It was very easy to forget that this story came from a debut author and I can’t wait to see what Jane Healey brings us next because I can not stress enough how great this book was!

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