When Libby, who was adopted when she was a baby, discovers that she will inherit a mansion in the heart of Chelsea on her birthday, she thinks her luck has finally changed. Keen to learn more about her birth parents and the history of the house, she begins to dig deeper with the help of a reporter. The more she discovers, the more she realises that her birth-family were not all that they seemed.
Henry grew up in the mansion and shares how the family’s life was turned upside down by some unwanted guests.
Lucy’s homeless in the south of France, desperate to provide a better life for her two children. When she is reminded that the baby has turned 25, she will stop at nothing to return home.
My first thought about the book was that the original blurb (not my mini description), is ever so slightly misleading. The story is a lot more about what happened inside the house and the family, rather than what had happened to the baby, which I wasn’t really expecting.
The novel focuses on three different perspectives – Lucy and Henry, who were both brought up in the mansion, and Libby, the child who was left behind. Their different stories create an overall picture of what happened inside that house, which is full of dark secrets.
Lisa Jewell is really good at creating unlikeable characters – Michael, Lucy’s ex-husband, and David, a guest at the house, were both equally horrible characters, and so everything that happens to them feels quite deserved.
Despite the book not being entirely what I expected, the plot is full of twists, right up until the very end. Jewell is really good at creating suspense and anticipation as to what will happen next.
To me, this was more of a mystery than a thriller, but one that I still enjoyed anyway! It’s definitely worth a read if you’re looking for an easy and gripping novel.
Favourite quotes:
“They weren’t bad books, they were books you didn’t enjoy. It’s not the same thing at all… any book that has been published is going to be a ‘good book’ for someone.”
“The weakness of men lay at the root of every bad thing that had ever happened.”