November 1, 1999
Popular British writer Lennox (Footprints in the Sand) frames her romantic mystery, spanning a century's worth of family intrigue, adultery and betrayal, with a modern-day dilemma. London biographer-documentary filmmaker Rebecca Bennett is 31 years old, bright and ambitious, but after having been left abruptly by her selfish lover when she miscarries his child, she's devastated. Depressed, Rebecca almost turns down the chance to write the biography of Dame Tilda Franklin, an activist who devoted her life to saving orphaned or unwanted children. Rebecca knows that saints make for dull stories, and she's interested in the "skull beneath the skin." But Tilda reveals a wealth of skeletons in a long-locked closet and Rebecca is drawn to Tilda and to her handsome lawyer grandson, Patrick. Gradually, frail, elderly Tilda recounts her complicated early life; her mother was raped by wealthy Edward de Paveley, who connived to have her sent to an asylum, and Tilda was raised by a strange, vengeful aunt. Her first love, Daragh Canavan, marries de Paveley's legitimate daughter, but never stops loving Tilda, though Tilda weds journalist Max Franklin and has a family of her own. Decades later, as Rebecca is researching Tilda's story, a body is discovered, believed to be Daragh's. A mysterious caller accuses Tilda of murdering Daragh years ago, so Rebecca plunders the family history, chasing ghosts and rumors in hopes of revealing the truth. Little does she know she's in danger herself from an unexpected source. Believable characters and a tale rife with shocking scandals make for a chilling mystery, though at times the plot whips through historical eras and switches narrative voices with little warning. Readers may sympathize with Tilda's mother, whose life was ruined in 1914 by bearing a child out of wedlock, but will have a harder time understanding modern-day Rebecca, an emotional basket case who seems to make a habit of getting pregnant at the outset of her romances, and seems powerless in directing her life, despite her description as a worldly, enterprising career woman. Agent, Robin Straus.
September 15, 1999
Readers of Rosamunde Pilcher and Angela Thirkell should enjoy this very entertaining novel, a contemporary tale that intermingles flashbacks to 1930s and 1940s Britain. Thirty-one-year-old Rebecca Bennett is still recovering from a disastrous affair when she is asked to write the biography of Dame Tilda Franklin, a highly regarded social activist who has devoted her life to rescuing children from appalling situations. As Rebecca becomes increasingly involved in her subject's extraordinary life, her research into the sinister disappearance of Tilda's first love decades ago strains her new relationship with Tilda's grandson, Patrick. The author effortlessly blends moments of suspense with pathos and humor (including one hysterical scene that anyone who has ever wished to take revenge on an old flame will appreciate). The shift between Tilda's past and Rebecca's present is never confusing or annoying, and both lives are equally interesting. This well-written and thoroughly enjoyable novel will have readers eagerly turning the pages until the end.--Elizabeth Mary Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA
Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.