"English writer Leroy's serious, delicately composed second novel (after Postcards from Berlin, 2003) presents an unhappy London wife and mother with a moral dilemma... Leroy delineates Ginnie's diffidence in a deliberately hypnotic, masterly fashion. Her quiet, self-assured narrative voice delivers tremendous psychological depth and emotional resonance."
Kirkus Reviews

"In some ways The River House reads like a suspense novel written by Richard Yates. Leroy handles marriage and domestic life with the same graceful, precise, rueful style as the late novelist did, though with a warmer, more hopeful intelligence...
"Leroy elucidates Ginnie's moral conundrum beautifully. Although there is never much doubt as to what Ginnie will do, it's how she does it that provides considerable suspense."
Richard Lopez - Washington Post

"To saints and altruists, perhaps, the question of doing the right thing is never a difficult choice. For the rest of us, however, such black-and-white situations are often more familiarly cast in myriad shades of gray. Such an intricate moral conundrum lies at the core of Leroy's cautionary tale of desire and passion versus responsibility and loyalty, in which a middle-aged wife and mother jeopardizes her family's security when she enters into a furtive love affair...
"Leroy's sensuously ethereal, subtly electric drama discerningly probes the affective fragility of a woman struggling to preserve all she holds dear, without losing herself in the process."
Carol Haggas: Booklist

"Questions of loyalty and morality simmer in Margaret Leroy's beautifully written novel 'The River House', a dark story centering on Ginnie Holmes, a psychologist in midlife who lives comfortably in the London suburbs with a distant husband and two daughters about to leave the nest...
"She nimbly searches the psyches of her characters and creates a suspenseful clincher that is very well done... The gifted author not only handles every part of the story with a deft touch, she also challenges the reader."
Dennis Lythgoe: Deseret Morning News

"Leroy's clever divergence from a romance/love affair to a mysterious murder alters the focus of the plot, highlighting the real consequences of a forbidden entanglement. The haunting prose resounds with hidden meaning. Consequently, this novel is at once gripping and disturbing, adding luster to its unique allure."
Sheri Melnick: Romantic Times

"Margaret Leroy, who also wrote the excellent Postcards from Berlin, makes you care about her characters, who feel so real that you know they must be out there leading the lives she talks about... Settle down in a deep armchair or hammock with The River House, and make sure you're comfortable - you won't want to get up for a while."
Hilary Williamson: BookLoons

"This gripping suspense novel by British author Margaret Leroy is more about the complex relationships between people than it is about crime... Leroy expertly draws a picture of a woman and a family in crisis and the moral questions one sometimes has to face."
H. B. Fenn: Toronto Sun