Thank you Libro.fm / HarperAudio for the ALC and Angela Books PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Fourth Princess in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio
Published: February 10, 2026
Summary:
From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as secrets of their pasts come to light, even as the mansion’s own secret threatens the present.
Shanghai, 1911. Lisan Liu is elated when she is hired as secretary to wealthy American Caroline Stanton, the new mistress of Lennox Manor on the outskirts of Shanghai’s International Settlement. However, the Manor has a dark past due to a previous owner’s suicide, and soon Lisan’s childhood nightmares resurface with more intensity and meld with haunted visions of a woman in red. Adding to her unease is the young gardener, Yao, who both entices and disturbs her.
Newly married Caroline looks forward to life in China with her husband, Thomas, away from the shadows of another earlier tragedy. But an unwelcome guest, Andrew Grey, attends her party and claims to know secrets she can’t afford to have exposed. At the same party, the notorious princess Masako Kyo approaches Lisan with questions about the young woman’s family that the orphaned Lisan can’t answer.
As Caroline struggles with Grey’s extortion and Thomas’s mysterious illness, Lisan’s future is upended when she learns the truth about her past, and why her identity has been hidden all these years. All the while, strange incidents accelerate, driving Lisan to doubt her sanity as Lennox Manor seems unwilling to release her until she fulfills demands from beyond the grave.
My thoughts:
I have been meaning to read this author for a while…I even have a few of her other books sitting on my shelf just waiting for me to pick them up and read them. And finally, I got to one…her latest and I cannot believe I have waited this long to read her!!
This historical mystery completely pulled me in right away and I felt as if I was right there in Shanghai in that mansion. That’s how vivid the writing is, so rich and atmospheric. I was equally invested in both main characters stories, especially as their pasts start to slowly unravel. And then there’s the mansion, which is what gives this story it’s Gothic vibes. The haunting past that is woven in really amps up the tension.
There is such a sense of foreboding that underlies this story and it gets under your skin. The are hints of paranormal elements that add to the overall haunting feel of the book and completely mesmerized me. I really couldn’t get enough of this one and highly recommend it!
Audio thoughts:
This had a full-cast narration, made up of Katharine Chin, Saskia Maarleveld and Caroline Hewitt, and I loved it! They each helped to amplify the suspense and haunting nature of the story.
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
