House of Shadows tells the stories of three women whose lives have been affected by the magical properties of the Sistrin pearl and the crystal mirror of the Order of the Rosy Cross. The pearl and the mirror were made to be a force for good, but were corrupted by the Knights’ use of them to scry for personal gain, thus unleashing death through fire and water. The story begins with Elizabeth of Bohemia, the Winter Queen, in the 1600’s, moves to courtesan Lavinia Flyte in the 1800’s, and finally to Holly Ansell in the present day. We move back and forth through these 3 perspectives for the length of the novel. These three women are connected in many ways, including through tragedy wrought by the crystal mirror, including the present day’s mystery: What happened to Holly’s missing brother, Ben?

At times, the book moved a bit slowly, getting bogged down in secondary storylines, but the author always found her footing again. If you’re a fan of historical mystery, you will likely enjoy this book.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.