Sarah has hit rock bottom. After her first success with Small Potatoes, she has hit a wall and has not found the next big idea for a similar blockbuster book. And the pressure is on, as she has her mother’s care to consider. What will she do?
Meanwhile, dialing back to 1915, we meet both Caroline and Tess. Caroline, graceful and talented, is married to a self-made man whom she loves but is finding to be unwilling to let her into his private and distracting business life. While they host a pre-departure soiree in their mansion in midtown Manhattan for all those leaving the next day on the luxurious Lusitania, she reunites with an old crush and wonders what will happen when they are all together on this journey. And Tess, from a different background altogether, cannot seem to stay in the shadows where she is seeking to acquire what she needs to deliver on her final undertaking for her sister and their “business.”. She just needs to do this one last job before she also boards the Lusitania and starts off in her new identity, her new life. The tensions are high for all of them as rumors of German U-boats abound… but surely the British naval ships will protect them, won’t they?
As you can easily see from my repeated Beatriz Williams book reviews, I love her writing. Full stop. She creates powerful female characters with depth, strong will, and acerbic wit – and this collaboration is no exception. All three main characters are like magnets, drawing us near, holding us to their stories, and keeping us wanting more.
The plot is written by these three characters’ stories as well. Each presents a different perspective which carries the story to the next level, taking it through its twists and turns, helping to build the suspense. And even though we all know the Lusitania is attacked by a German U-boat and sunk, the suspense is not jeopardized but rather enhanced by this; that is, we do not know exactly when or how it will happen, who will survive it, and how it will impact our characters in the end.
This is yet another wonderful historical fiction novel by one of my very favorite authors and her colleagues – I absolutely recommend it!
kindread spirits 