Solace House by Will MacLean
Publication Date: October 13th, 2026
Grove Press
512 pages. Hardcover.
'The Secret History meets The Haunting of Hill House . . . rich, thoughtful, terrifying.'—Nicholas Binge, author of Dissolution
An addictive and brilliant puzzle box of a novel following a group of university students who discover an astonishing secret while clearing out a neglected Victorian mansion
For Alex Lane’s wealthy university friends, the summer break stretches out before them, full of promise and fabulous plans. But for Alex, broke as usual, going home is not an option. So when the university offers him an unusual summer job clearing out a dilapidated Victorian mansion, Solace House, he jumps at the chance. Alex joins an unlikely crew of students, from stoner Clive to uptight, short-tempered Helen, and the extremely peculiar Adam.
Alex is particularly drawn to mercurial, red-headed Ella, and as the students begin sorting through piles of old newspapers and magazines, dusty antiques, and esoteric junk, Alex and Ella become enthralled by the elaborate and eerie journals of the house’s former owner, Edwin Flayne. In these diaries, Flayne details his obsession with his missing mother and his belief in a mysterious realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions on how it might be reached.
As the students gradually uncover the house’s secrets, the rift between those who want to delve further and those who believe they’ve already gone too far grows ever wider."
Solace House follows Alex as the school year wraps up and he finds he has nowhere to go for the summer--not a new discovery, but one he had been dreading just a bit. He eventually falls into an opportunity that takes him to Solace House, an old secluded mansion, where he and a group of other students will spend the summer clearing out the house from what appears to be a rather intense hoarding situation involving its former owner, Flayne. While clearing out the house, the group stumbles upon not just useless junk and collections, but also some more... peculiar items and ideas that hint at something deeper going on with Flayne than anyone might reasonably expect.
To be fully honest, my dream in some capacity is to get paid to spend a summer doing something like this, even though I know the reality of some hoarder situations could be quite... horrendous. But in this specific context, I would love to do it, especially with how weird things get. Uncovering some weird man's eccentricities and the possibility of other dimensions? Count me in.
I really enjoyed getting to know our motley crew, which included Alex, Clive, Leo, Malcolm, Adam, Ruth, Helen, and, of course, Jilly Cowie. Alex is a great character to follow because he's a nice blend of someone who actually has a personality and isn't some cardboard figure passively watching everything around him, but also isn't over the top outgoing or making stupid decisions at every turn. He's a bit immature in his thinking at times, which fits perfectly with his age and current place in life, and he has a great sense of humor, which often comes through in the many discussions and the banter between the characters.
And speaking of, each character was very deftly crafted and I think MacLean did a really great job of creating unique characters that actually have interesting personalities and backgrounds. The only exception to this, for me, was Malcolm, whom I kinda forgot about here and there and at this point I'm not sure I could tell you off the cuff what his deal was. Helen also seemed to get a little caricature-esque at times, but I think the drama she brought also added something to the story that was needed. Nonetheless, I found this group truly engaging and I liked spending the summer with them as they engaged in this rather odd job together.
This was really such an odd setup in some ways for our characters, but I loved having a sort of miniature, semi-academic community in an isolated setting. It's like the dark academia setup without having to incorporate classes and other restrictions, it's almost like free rein to have an isolated group of young students and see what happens when they are left to essentially discover things on their own.
And what they're discovering is fascinating! Between Flayne's strange collections, the journals they uncover, and the increasingly peculiar ideas surrounding other dimensions, there's so much to investigate and piece together. I loved how even the seemingly mundane discoveries could hint at something much larger, and how the characters were left trying to determine what was genuinely significant versus what might be simply another one of Flayne's eccentricities... which could also be significant in its own way (I promise this will make sense if you read the book).
I'll also note that it made me mad as hell whenever Jilly or someone wanted to burn Flayne's things. I get that things are creepy, but as someone who also struggles to get rid of things, I found that so much of it seemed like it was worth investigating or appreciating rather than simply throwing it away. It frustrated me that they couldn't at least take pictures of some things since this is set before smartphone cameras were everywhere, but I guess that's the beauty of experiencing the present sometimes. These are all just normal reader feelings that I think you're supposed to feel a little bit, so I'm not complaining, but I just needed to express my feelings anyway.
I love stories like this so much. Any story that has so many intricate details baked into the very bones of the story where it's clear that so much careful thought and plotting have gone into everything, and where seemingly no detail is included by accident, is exactly the type of story that I love getting lost in. There are breadcrumbs and minute details everywhere you look, and I just love something that really takes the time to explore an idea and a setting with such intensity and care. There's a passion in this that I really loved, and I loved exploring everything along with the characters.
When I say this book is a slow burn, I'm not just saying it in the sense that it's a big book with a lot to say. I really, really mean it--if you aren't enjoying the story, it will feel like it's dragging, but if you are loving every second of it like I was, then you'll appreciate every paragraph. But holy hell is this a slow burn; it is not for the fainthearted. Despite it being a slow burn, the writing is fortunately completely captivating and completely drew me in. MacLean's writing is so compelling and just drips with hidden meaning, whether intentional or not (though I'm pretty sure everything is intentional, of course!). I loved the weirdness of it all at times, though I should clarify that it's a very "normal" story with a very accessible style and plot to follow, but there are so many hints and underlying notes of oddness and intrigue that felt like a constant nod to the reader not to get complacent.
I do think things start to drag a little bit at the 60-70% mark. Then the pacing picks up again, and the last portion is very different from the start of the story, but still compelling. I felt like Alex's personality changed a bit after a certain transition period, which threw me off a little, but maybe I just hadn't seen him in those types of situations before.
As much as I truly enjoyed this book overall and wholeheartedly recommend it, there are some things that I didn't love as much. While I think the ending very much works just fine for this story, I have to admit that I found it to be a bit disappointing in some capacity as well. I feel like the entire story leading up to the final quarter or so of the book was so thoughtful, full of tension and buildup, slow but steady in pacing, and continuously promised and hinted at so much.. and then the way it panned out just felt like it didn't quite reach the level of payoff I'd been hoping it would achieve. (And also... not that the truth of Alex's background isn't horribly traumatic, but I did think it might have a slightly larger role than it ended up having.) I think a few specific things involving some characters felt like they petered out slightly as well, but there's a fine balance between that and overexplaining, so I understand the choices the author made.
And none of this is to say that it's not a good ending at all, but for a story that really promises "labyrinths" and secrets and mysteries, I think it delivered on that for about 80% of the story with excellent execution, and then just faltered slightly at the end. That's possibly what prevents this from being a true 5/5 for me, but it's still a book I'd consider a new favorite and one I will absolutely continue to recommend for a long time to come.
I'm not sure what genre exactly to classify this as, as there are definitely hints of horror, mystery, almost some dark academia vibes, some Gothic and even thriller vibes at times--honestly, it's just a great read and I think it will appeal to readers who love puzzles, thoughtful, intricate stories, charismatic and engaging characters, and especially those who love the fantastic. It's the type of book that will absolutely leave readers wanting to theorize and have lengthy discussions about it.
*I received a copy of Solace House courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*
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