The Lodger

Product Information

The shock of the news, along with the trauma of losing her fiancé and her brother during the war, makes Grace dreaming about them all and decides to investigate her friend's death.

The Lodger by Helen Scarlett | Incredible books from Quercus

Since the end of the Great War, Grace Armstrong feels as if life has passed her by in some respects. She has done her best to move on – having served as a VAD nurse during the war, she is now pursuing a career as a journalist with the London periodical Nursing World – but she is still haunted by the thought that her fiancé Robert, reported Missing in Action at the Somme, could still be alive.This book is beautifully written, with wonderful characters, twists and turns that fit the plot and storyline and will keep you immersed in their world. Elizabeth Smith has lodged with the Armstrong family in Tufnell Park in London for several years, becoming a friend to them all, and especially to Grace, the daughter of the house. Elizabeth had been more than a lodger; she had become a close friend to Grace, who feels compelled to find out what happened. There's also a hint of the unknown as Grace is convinced she keeps seeing Robert everywhere but when she chases him down, he has always disappeared. Her debut historical novel, The Deception of Harriet Fleet, a chilling take on nineteenth-century classics such as Jane Eyre, was highly praised.

The Lodger - Helen Scarlett - Google Books The Lodger - Helen Scarlett - Google Books

Everything was revealed in the last 30 pages (which at that point I started skimming) and I just thought “okay and? I was especially interested when these themes were explored through Grace and her Mother Isobel, and other women who were grieving, such as Bridget. I was very keen to read Helen Scarlett's latest Gothic treat, having enjoyed her previous book The Deception of Harriet Fleet so much. When their lodger’s body is pulled from the Thames in mysterious circumstances, Grace is set on using her reporting skills to solve Elizabeth’s murder.Not only is the plot surrounding the mystery of Elizabeth, but it also touches upon the grief Grace is enduring after losing her fiance in the trenches. Grace is appalled when a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Catherine Smith, who has lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing. Grace’s fiancé was one of the soldiers declared missing after the Battle of Somme, and she cannot accept this loss.