“A gem of a novel.”
— Toronto Star
Description
A broken family, a house of secrets—an entrancing tale of love and courage set during the Second World War.
After Rebecca’s mother dies, she must sort through her empty flat and come to terms with her loss. As she goes through her mother’s mail, she finds a handwritten envelope. In it is a letter that will change her life forever.
Olivia, her mother’s elderly cousin, needs help to save her beloved home. Rebecca immediately goes to visit Olivia in Cornwall only to find a house full of secrets—treasures in the attic and a mysterious tunnel leading from the cellar to the sea, and Olivia, nowhere to be found.
As it turns out, the old woman is stuck in hospital with no hope of being discharged until her house is made habitable again. Rebecca sets to work restoring the home to its former glory, but as she peels back the layers of paint and grime, she uncovers even more buried secrets—secrets from a time when the Second World War was raging, when Olivia was a young woman, and when both romance and danger lurked around every corner...
A sweeping and utterly spellbinding tale of a young woman’s courage in the face of war and the lengths to which she’ll go to protect those she loves against the most unexpected of enemies.
Reviews
“A beautifully written story of two women’s courage.”
— The New York Journal of Books
“A beautifully written and intriguing story that stayed with me long after I had turned the last page.”
— SANTA MONTEFIORE, bestselling author of The Temptation of Gracie
“The talented Jane Johnson spins a vivid, complex tale of a young woman in war-torn 1940s Cornwall who has seemingly lost everything, and her distant relative in modern-day London, who must journey to England’s rugged southwest coast, where a house full of mystery, history, and lies connects them both. Both storylines come alive in a swift-moving, evocative tale full of hidden bones, lost love, long-buried secrets, and even a foul-mouthed parrot. A wholly original World War II–era story that will make you both laugh and cry in equal measure.”
— KRISTIN HARMEL, bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names
