He was declared Missing in Action during the Battle of the Somme, but he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams. I was very keen to read Helen Scarlett's latest Gothic treat, having enjoyed her previous book The Deception of Harriet Fleet so much. Grace is appalled when a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Elizabeth Smith, who has lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing. She is a strong, resilient and likeable character whose investigations stay well within the limits of believability throughout.

The Lodger (Audio Download): Helen Scarlett, Lucy Paterson The Lodger (Audio Download): Helen Scarlett, Lucy Paterson

uk/landing-page/quercus/quercus-company-information/">The data controller is Quercus Editions Ltd. Elizabeth had been more than a lodger; she had become a close friend to Grace, who feels compelled to find out what happened. However, as someone not currently invested in romance novels, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.The few changes that you can be appreciate in Grace, Tom, or in any of the dozen characters in this story, seem come from the natural passage of time and the process of overcoming the trauma of war. London in 1919 was a city of ghosts and absences, haunted by the men who marched away but never came back from 'the war to end all wars. In doing so however, Grace is unknowingly and reluctantly drawn in to a world full of dangerous liaisons and sordid encounters seemingly hidden in London’s underbelly reaching back to a scandal responsible for shaking the foundations of polite Edwardian society. This second novel from the author of The Deception of Harriet Fleet takes us back to the aftermath of the Great War in another haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale.

The Lodger | Helen Scarlett | 9781529407617 | NetGalley The Lodger | Helen Scarlett | 9781529407617 | NetGalley

Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for the eARC of The Lodger by Helen Scarlett in exchange for an honest review! Unable to accept the verdict from the police that Elizabeth had committed suicide, Grace is determined to find out what really happened. When a dead body is found in the Thames, Grace Armstrong is shocked to identify it as Catherine Smith, the lodger at her family home.I think if it had been dual POV and we could discover the secrets from Elizabeth’s perspective rather than being told everything secondhand it could’ve been more intriguing/mysterious. The end of this novel was lacking unfortunately, it was entirely convenient and did not tie up the story or the themes explored in a satisfying way for me.

The Lodger by Helen Scarlett | Waterstones The Lodger by Helen Scarlett | Waterstones

The characters could just have been taken from this grand house to the slightly more family home of Ryedale Villa. Grace starts looking into Elizabeth’s life (she can’t believe it was suicide) and there’s much more than she expected. With the help of her friends and the family servants, she begins to trace back through Elizabeth’s life on the basis of the few scraps of information they have all gleaned from this very private woman over the years.

In grief-stricken post-war London, Grace mourns her brother and fiancé and the shadow her mother has become. Soon Grace finds herself under threat, and the only person prepared to listen is the brooding Tom Monaghan. The middle part felt too slow for my taste and there was a lot of speaking about clues and small talk too, but not many active moments. There were so many twist and turns and the ghosts and depiction of grief added real weight to the story.