Lost Lorrenden by Mabel Esther Allan

Phoebe Lyndhurst has gone to boarding school since she was nine, spending holidays with her grandparents in London, while her parents work in South America. One rainy July, she falls in love with a painting at the National Gallery:

The picture was of an old, grey stone house, with twisted chimneys and mullioned windows. There was a terrace that dropped to a lawn and brilliant flower-beds, and in a corner under a tree a party of ladies was having tea.

The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth – a Miss Silver mystery for the #1937Club

Title: The Case is Closed
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner Books, paperback, originally published in 1937
Genre: Mystery/series
Setting: London and environs

It's the first day of the 1937 Club, hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings to feature reviews of books published in that year.

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn – historical fiction set between the wars

Title: The Whalebone Theatre
Author: Joanna Quinn
Publication: Knopf, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Historical England
Setting: 20th century Britain and France

Description: Cristabel Seagrave, a neglected orphan, grows up between the wars in a Dorset manor house, with half-sister Flossie and cousin Digby who follow her on every adventure. When a 7-foot whale is beached nearby, the children are fascinated, as is a larger-than-life Russian artist who appears at the same time with his family and becomes part of the Seagraves’ lives.

Outrageous Fortune: A Golden Age Mystery by Patricia Wentworth

Title: Outrageous Fortune
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner, paperback, 1990 (originally published in 1933)
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 20th century England

Description: The Van Berg emeralds have been stolen and Elmer Van Berg shot and left for dead.  A man is unconscious in the hospital muttering about Jimmy Riddell or Randal and green beads, and the hospital helpfully advertises for his family on the radio as Twitter will not created until 2006.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly - a dual timeline novel set during WWII

Title: The Light Over London
Author: Julia Kelly
Publication: Gallery Books, trade paperback, 2019
Genre: Historical fiction (mostly)
Setting: WWII and present-day Great Britain

Description: This dual timeline novel begins in 2017 in the Cotswolds as Cara Hargraves, not only newly and painfully divorced but also having recently lost both parents, has taken a job with an antique dealer. As she and her boss assess the estate of an elderly lady, Cara finds a hidden diary from World War II in a dusty armoire.

Noel Streatfeild's overlooked series about child actress Gemma Bow

Titles: Gemma, Gemma and Sisters
Author: Noel Streatfield
Publication: Dell Yearling, paperbacks (originally published in 1968)
Genre: Juvenile fiction/series
Setting: 20th century England

Description: Gemma is a child film star, daughter of actress Rowena Bow, but as she approaches adolescence there have been no parts for a while, which frightens her. When her mother is offered a part in America, Gemma is sent to live with cousins she has never met, 150 miles from London.

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Title: The Rest of the Story
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publication: HarperCollins, hardcover, 2019
Genre: Young Adult

Plot: When Emma Payne’s father remarries, she unexpectedly needs a place to go while he is on his honeymoon. The surprising suggestion is that Emma visit her mother’s mother in working class North Lake, two hours away. Emma’s mother was an addict who overdosed years ago, and Emma has had no contact with her mother’s family since she was 4, although she remembers stories her mother told her as a child. When she arrives, she meets cousins she didn’t know existed and learns her grandmother runs a motel. She also learns that her Calvander family know her as Saylor, which is her middle name. Determined to pull her weight, Emma Saylor is soon changing bedding and scrubbing toilets with her cousins and Roo, the cute son of her mother’s best friend. Cleaning allows time for contemplation about her mother’s sad end; why doesn’t Emma remember more about her childhood visit; the contrast between North Lake and the affluent resort side of town, known as Lake North, which is where Emma’s mother first met her father. Although it takes strategy, Emma finds she fits in on both sides of the lake and, ultimately, has to make a choice regarding where she actually belongs.

My Impressions: A new Sarah Dessen is always a treat, and after a few that were only so-so, I felt this one returned to her usual high standard. Emma is introspective and allows the reader to share her reactions and feelings and, as always, the author makes you care about her. Like many heroines of this genre, Emma is trying to figure out who she is – with the added complication of learning she has two names – Emma, her comfortable suburban self, and Saylor, her can-do summer lake self. Knowing your mother was an addict and died from her addiction would be stressful for anyone and one can’t blame her father for shielding her from that part of her heritage, but it is hard to believe that her paternal relatives living just two hours away gave up on all contact with Emma. Her father didn’t even know Emma’s grandfather had died!

Coming to North Lake brings Emma Saylor close to her rediscovered family, helps her realize all the things she can do – drive, clean (you can tell Sarah Dessen has deep cleaned some rooms in her time – I wish I had those skills!), hold her own against anyone who challenges her, and reclaim memories of her mother. Dessen excels in depicting relationships, and the best part of the book is the way Emma Saylor and her three cousins establish friendships. If there was a flaw, it was that the story is light on romance.   Roo is appealing (except for his name) but very understated.

Off the Blog: It is day lily season and I am pleased that the crimson and peach bulbs I planted have finally emerged! Gardening is an uphill battle for me.

Source: Library copy but I hope to attend a book signing later this month in Falmouth and purchase my own. Not long ago I learned that my father and Sarah Dessen’s father were college classmates, although I doubt they knew each other.  Funny to think she might have turned up at Harvard instead of becoming a Tar Heel!   My elder nieces and I did meet Sarah in 2013 - see photo (proof!).