Gripping. Reads like the best kind of mystery story. It is a tale of mistresses and heirlooms, cowardice and connivance Sunday Times 'Astonishing, jaw-dropping, superb. Horrifying, extraordinary Sunday Telegraph Extraordinary, edge-of-the-seat, enthralling. All the ingredients of a lurid horror. The plot is thick with destroyed documents, decadent aristocracy, betrayed honour and curses Metro Compelling. A remarkable piece of research which throws a bright shaft of light on powerful people, hypocrisy and the first world war -- Jeremy Paxman Guardian, Books of the Year Wonderful ... has everything: family intrigue and hatred, love and war, witches' curses, eccentricity, snobbery and a series of shocking secrets. No reader can finish it unmoved Sunday Express Teems with hypocrisy, deceit, parental manipulation and bullying. Bailey artfully shows how guilt, grief, pride and shame levied a heavy toll Literary Review An extraordinary detective operation -- John Julius Norwich Excellent, beautifully crafted, fascinating Red Excellent. A fine, suspenseful, atmospheric tale, a less melodramatic and more nuanced Downton Abbey Daily Express Bailey's fascinating book takes us to the heart of a family tragedy ... this is a horrifying story of love, despair, intrigue, snobbery and upper class eccentricity which reads like fiction but is amazingly - and shockingly - real Lancashire Evening Post The mysterious death of a Duke and a castle full of treacherous goings-on make The Secret Rooms a gripping read for fans of Downton Abbey. As thrilling as any fiction, Catherine Bailey uncovers the darkest depths of a family with plenty of skeletons in its closet Good Housekeeping

Catherine Bailey is the author of Black Diamonds. She read history at Oxford University and is a successful, award-winning television producer and director, making a range of critically acclaimed documentary films inspired by her interest in twentieth century history. She lives in West London.