The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig
Two storylines come together to
reveal the mysteries at the heart of a family.
In 1906 Addie Gillecote moves to her Aunt and Uncle’s manor house after
the death of her parents. Her cousin,
Bea, takes Addie under her wing, making Addie feel a little less like an
intruder. The two become as close as
sisters, but circumstances wreck havoc on their relationship. In 1999, Clemmie, 99-year old Addie’s
30-something granddaughter, is in a career she thinks she loves (or she may
actually hate) and doesn’t have time for a relationship or really anything
outside of work. A chance encounter in
London gets Clemmie thinking about her grandmother’s life, including the time
she lived in Kenya happily married and running a coffee plantation. Nothing about the lives of Addie and Bea
turns out to be straightforward.
I am a HUGE Lauren Willig fan,
having read all of the books in her Pink Carnation series. I was sad that she wasn’t writing another
entry in her historical romance series, but her more serious turn at a
historical here was quite good. And
there is a nod to her series fans with the name of a certain character. If you enjoy historical fiction with a twist
of suspense this one should appeal to you.
