Overview

From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Forgotten Room comes a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century—two deep in the past, one in the present—to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.

May 2013

Her finances are in dire straits and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe. . . .

April 1915

Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, pre-occupied with business . . . and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect—but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life. . .

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems. . . .

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself.

Review

This story is told by three different narrators. Sarah is in the present day. Caroline and Tessa are both set during 1915. Sarah has come across some information about her great-grandfather and she is on the hunt to find out more. Caroline is a rich socialite. Her husband has recently distanced himself from her and she wants to know why. Tessa is just a con artist/thief. She is on board the Lusitania to do a very specific job.

Sarah is a struggling author and she thinks she has finally found the topic of her next book, her great-grandfather’s story. Trouble is, she can’t find enough information. So she heads to England to do research and ask questions. This puts her on to Caroline and Tessa and the Lusitania.

The mystery in this story is intricate and creative. I enjoyed how it slowly unravels and twists around and leaves you unsure of exactly what is happening. There are also love stories weaving about the characters. And you think you know…but you really don’t know!

The rich history of the Lusitania and the time period is so well done! I must expand my horizons and read more! Don’t miss this one!

I received this novel from Edelweiss for a honest review.

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