"My feet echo upon the wooden boards: a lonesome sound to match this lonesome place. It seems strange, to me, to give a house a name. Morvoren. As if it were not just bricks and pebbles but a living thing." 

Louise Pinecroft's family has died of consumption, leaving her and her father alone. Dr. Pinecroft decides to arrange for a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease to be sent to the cliffs below his home to use sea air to cure them. During this time, Louise's new maid tells of stories about fairies that hunt the land. Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at the Morvoren house to take care of Louise. She has fled Cornwall to escape her past, however, soon she will discover secrets and superstitions that may be just as dangerous as her last job. 

This was my second book by Purcell and she is amazing at writing atmospheric, gothic stories in my opinion. The House of Whispers was dark and unnerving, and created a sense of dread throughout. 

I enjoyed the different POVs from Hester's past job to her present one, as well as Louise's past with her father and present day with all the creepy goings-on in her home. Both POVs helped develop their characters and aided the reader in understanding why they came to be the way they were. 

It's been weeks since I read this and I honestly can't remember why I rated it 3.5 stars 😅 I think having read The Silent Companions first and absolutely loving that one might have set the bar high for her other books. I think I wanted a little more from the story, but it was still a chilling, compelling tale!