Bitter House Review

• Bitter House by Kiersten Modglin

• 248 pages, Kindle edition

• Published: June 1st, 2024

• Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Romance Suspense, Fiction

• Setting: Within the compound of the manor throughout the book

This is a short and face-paced thriller that was a lot of fun to read! You follow a girl named Bridget who lost her parents in a car accident at a very young age. She is sent to her grandmother Vera’s house and lives with her until Vera kicks her out at eighteen. Bridget knows her grandma to be a cold and closed off woman who was loaded because of her dead grandfather. Her grandmother, to Bridget's surprise, left the house to her. Arriving on the property she runs into someone she didn’t expect, and didn’t want to. 

Cole, the child of the woman Edna who was the live-in housekeeper came in after her. Bridget finds out the house was left to both her and Cole. This sends her into a spiral and all the betrayal that has happened in her life plays a major role on her feelings toward the situation. As tensions are rising, Bridget finds a letter addressed to her and it talks about secrets her grandmother kept and that there would be 6 more letters. 

Spoiler free:

It was very interesting how the author chose to play out the plot. It kind of reminded me of The Housemaid and I really enjoyed that book. I gave it a 3.5 because sometimes it felt a little rushed and I think it would have been interesting to have past and present scenes from Bridget and Cole’s point of view. I also loved how later on in the book we get an insight on the past of Vera’s life.  

I think the twist was amazing but it didn’t wow me as much as if I’d never read something kind of like it. Now, I didn’t predict the ending and I thought it was well thought out. I try while reading a thriller to not think about what could happen or who it is because I love when a twist gets me. 

I also loved the friends of Vera that kept coming over giving them food and saying if they needed anything to holler. It was one aspect of Vera that Bridget didn’t know. Bridget truly believes that her grandmother can’t have friends and I think it's kind of sad how distant she was from her family. I tell you what her family can sometimes get on your nerves but overall I liked the book.

There is a makeout scene from page 209-211 so I just wanted to let you know!

Spoilers!!

Now the fact that her grandma was a killer I found to be crazy. The reason I said it was like The Housemaid is because after the first book if you’ve read it (if you haven’t read The Housemaid there will be some spoilers, you have been warned) the main girl becomes this person who helps women in abusive situations out of the struggle. That's exactly what Vera and her rag tag group has been doing for years. 

The fact that he saved Edna and Cole from an abusive husband/father was not surprising when you find out the background. The way Cole reacted to the body being his fathers they found in the garden I feel like could have been fleshed out a bit but I understand he didn’t really have a relationship with him. I overall just really loved his character and how much he loved Bridgit. His heart stayed with her even after all the years apart. He truly loved Bridget.