QUICK FACTS
Title: The London House: A Novel
Author: Katherine Reay
Genre: Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Harper Muse (November 2, 2021)
Length: (368) pages
Format: Trade paperback, eBook, & audiobook
Tour Dates: November 1-28, 2021
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.
Caroline Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat Hammond, an old college friend and historian. But pleasantries are cut short. Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried for decades: In World War II, Caroline’s British great-aunt betrayed family and country to marry her German lover.
Determined to find answers and save her family’s reputation, Caroline flies to her family’s ancestral home in London. She and Mat discover diaries and letters that reveal her grandmother and great-aunt were known as the “Waite sisters.” Popular and witty, they came of age during the interwar years, a time of peace and luxury filled with dances, jazz clubs, and romance. The buoyant tone of the correspondence soon yields to sadder revelations as the sisters grow apart, and one leaves home for the glittering fashion scene of Paris, despite rumblings of a coming world war.
Each letter brings more questions. Was Caroline’s great-aunt actually a traitor and Nazi collaborator, or is there a more complex truth buried in the past? Together, Caroline and Mat uncover stories of spies and secrets, love and heartbreak, and the events of one fateful evening in 1941 that changed everything.
In this rich historical novel from award-winning author Katherine Reay, a young woman is tasked with writing the next chapter of her family’s story. But Caroline must choose whether to embrace a love of her own and proceed with caution if her family’s decades-old wounds are to heal without tearing them even further apart.
ADVANCE PRAISE
“Carefully researched, emotionally hewn, and written with a sure hand, The London House is a tantalizing tale of deeply held secrets, heartbreak, redemption, and the enduring way that family can both hurt and heal us. I enjoyed it thoroughly.”— Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars and The Book of Lost Names
“An expertly researched and marvelously paced treatise on the many variants of courage and loyalty . . . Arresting historical fiction destined to thrill fans of Erica Roebuck and Pam Jenoff.”— Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration and The Mozart Code
“Reay’s fast-paced foray into the past cleverly reveals a family’s secrets and how a pivotal moment shaped future generations. Readers who enjoy engrossing family mystery should take note.”— Publisher’s Weekly
MY REVIEW
I was drawn in and taken away with Caroline and Mat as they explored the mystery in her family tree. An aunt that she had thought dead as a child had a much bigger role in life than Caroline had anticipated. This story was a fresh way to see the events that happened in WWII. I love stories like this that humanize and bring the events of the war to life through another's eyes. TO see sacrifices and choices that affected many come to life on the page gives me new appreciation for "The Greatest Generation".
Caroline was able to explore and learn about her grandparents and the events that shaped even her parents. She approached this journey with tenacity and some trepidation at not knowing what she would find at the end. In doing so, she discovered much about herself, which is the connecting piece that makes it all matter.
I was thrilled with this story and the intensity of the mystery. I felt transported back in time to an era where there was much going on that was intense and misleading. This book made me ponder what would I have done. What sacrifices would I have made? Would I have participated in fighting the enemy or would I have been the enemy?
The mystery carried through to the end and I appreciated the additional information provided by the prologue and epilogue. I look forward to adding this book to my collection.
I was given a complimentary advanced copy by the publisher. This is my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
AUTHOR BIO
Katherine Reay is the national bestselling and award-winning author of Dear Mr. Knightley, Lizzy and Jane, The Brontë Plot, A Portrait of Emily Price, The Austen Escape, and The Printed Letter Bookshop. All Katherine’s novels are contemporary stories with a bit of classical flair. Katherine holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, and is a wife, mother, former marketer, and avid chocolate consumer. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine now happily resides outside Chicago, IL.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Emily. This story made me think about the consequences of the choices we make in life and how they affect ourselves and others. I enjoyed the historical details too.