📖 Book Review ~ Nightingale Hall by Rachel Burton

Boldwood Books
3 November 2026

Thanks to the publisher for the copy of the book 

 

2019: Still grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother, Rosie has let her world grow small. But when she discovers a postcard of the painting tucked inside her grandmother's unfinished book, Rosie realises the artwork may be hiding a secret much closer to home.

1969: Lex Cooper has talent, ambition and a dazzling future in the artworld ahead of them. But one heartbreaking decision threatens everything Lex has worked for, and the painting that was set to make them famous, could well prove their undoing...

As Rosie follows the trail Lex left behind, she uncovers a story of love, loss and reinvention – and a truth that will change everything.

📖 My Review..

At the start of the story Rosie Lopez is in mourning for her beloved grandmother who has recently died and whilst clearing her gran’s personal effects Rosie discovers a postcard of a painting called Moonlight on Nightingale and it is this enigmatic painting which will become the focus for the story. As we begin to see the effect that the search for this painting has on Rosie’s life going forward so we start to see long buried family secrets finally being unravelled.

Splitting into two distinct time frames we follow Rosie in the present as she goes about her life in Hampstead, her fractious relationship with her mother, her job at the small art gallery alongside her new boss Isaac, and her glorious friendship with Kaddy who owns the local coffee shop. All this is juxtaposed against Lauren Lopez’s rather unsettled life in the 1960s, her reasons for settling in London away from her native America and the connection with Lex Cooper, a talented artist with secrets of her own.

The story is a real delight to read, the author does this immersive dual time genre so well so that it becomes a seamless transition between past and present and I was equally engrossed in both eras. I found Nightingale Hall to be a delightful dual time story with strong female characters, a hidden family secret and a beautiful but forgotten painting at its heart.

About the Author 

Rachel Burton is the bestselling author of historical timeslip novels and romantic comedies. Rachel was born in Cambridge and studied Classics and English Literature before starting a career in law. She lives in Yorkshire with her husband, a variety of cats and far too many books.

​Follow Rachel Burton

Facebook: @RachelBurton74

Instagram: @RachelBurton