The wintry cover with a little boy and girl hand in hand on a snow covered path to a lighted stately home looks seasonably cute but the true story contained within this cover is a rather twisted tale of obsession, envy, unrequited love and a struggle with childlessness.
Dan and Olivia have recently become parents to twins Bea and Stanley and finally fulfilled their dreams through IVF using donor eggs. Although, money has now become an issue as Dan has lost his job but Dan’s old university friend Francesca comes to the rescue – and not for the first time. Married to a ridiculously rich American, Walt, and living in Geneva, Francesca “Cheska” allows Dan and Olivia and the children to move into a cottage on the estate of an old Elizabethan hall that Walt has bought in Norfolk, and plans to renovate. But is her generous gesture altruistic?
But there are secrets, and lots of them. Secrets about the house and secrets between Dan and Olivia too. As the book is set in both the present day and in 1959, there are two stories going on and much of the interest with the story comes from trying to work out if and how they are linked. Once I learned about the background story that made Francesca who and what she was, I felt very sorry for her; she had been a damaged teenager and still was, notwithstanding her wealth. When I read what had happened to her at university I pitied her but I felt that despite her academic abilities, her emotional intelligence was severely lacking. I really like good character development and absolutely loved finding out about the relationships and interactions between all the characters in the past; Olivia’s story, Dan’s background, Alice and Julia, and William! He was the best! I can’t say that for many of the present day characters, though. Olivia wasn’t tough enough for most of the book, Cheska was just nuts and Dan, well, what a waste of space he turned out to be.
A very compelling read with a few unlikeable characters that added to the intrigue. The ending superbly brings together each strand of both time zones. Lulu Taylor is a great tale teller and I thoroughly enjoyed, and recommend, this story and I’d seek out other books of hers.