There is little doubt in my mind that Celestin’s novel is inspired by the Winchester House – a strange and haunting residence which is now a museum. Instead of California, the monstruous palace of shadows sprawls across the Yorkshire moors and is haven or prison for the ghosts of the victims of war – those killed by the weapons Mrs Chesterfield’s company produced and sold.

The remote location allows Celestin to populate his cast with ignorant and superstitious locals – a staple of rural horror. These shadowy characters further isolate both past and present architects, leaving them at the mercy of the house and its occupants. Pagan rituals and celebrations reinforce this divide and reflect the beliefs of Mrs Chesterfield and her closest companions. Add to this the treacherous landscape with sinking mud and dark, singing caves, which ensure that escape is a suicidal impossibility.

Unexplained deaths and disappearances surround this labyrinthine mansion. It weaves its spell on the imaginations of both locals and people who have never seen it, including the protagonist, Samuel Etherstone, an artist whose nightmarish paintings, depicting impossible geometry, ensure his commission as the architect for the house’s final addition – a mausoleum for its dying owner.

Told in the first person and including journal entries by Chesterfield’s first architect and letters from her spiritual advisor, the compelling narrative spans fifty years. Each character adds new insight while obscuring the terrifying truth until the book’s climax.

Palace of Shadows is an exciting page turner that leaves us grappling with truth and subterfuge long after the story is complete. Reflecting the tone of outstanding novels such as “House of Leaves” and “The Elementals”, the Chesterfield mansion is a character in its own right and more fully realised than most of the human cast – malevolent antagonist, puppet master, mind-tormenting labyrinth, minotaur and architect. This is a plot-driven, atmospheric, and at times surreal, psychological horror set in the 19th century.