The story takes place in England and Morton cleverly weaves a family mystery from two main eras –the present (2011) and 1941, along with some flashbacks to the 1960’s. The protagonist (Laurel) is middle aged and, along with the rest of her siblings, heads to her hometown to care for her dying mother (Dorothy). Upon her first visit to her mother in hospital, Laurel notices a photograph from her mother’s past which triggers a significant childhood memory of Laurel’s and forces her to investigate Dorothy’s involvement in World War Two and find the truth about her mother’s life before becoming a wife and mother. What unfolds is a rich story of the foolishness associated with young ‘war time’ love with many twists and turns.

What I love about Morton’s writing style is her ability to flick between the two eras whilst still maintaining a clear plot line. It’s a clever structure as each present day chapter ends on a mini cliffhanger, leaving the reader hungry to know what happens next. Instead of simply continuing the story in the present day, Morton flicks back to 1941 and clues about the family mystery in present time are revealed to the reader through the equally intriguing story of Dorothy as a young lady in London during the Second World War.

The character’s are brought to life through Morton’s highly descriptive writing style, along with her decision to narrate the novel through varied perspectives. This allows each chapter to give the reader insight into the main characters’ thoughts and feelings. For this reason, the more I learnt about the young Dorothy character the less I liked her – which is quite odd as in the beginning of the novel we are being positioned to feel sympathy for the older Dorothy as she appears to be on her deathbed and we read about Laurel’s favoured memories of her free spirited mother. The love of young Dorothy’s life, Jimmy, is a loveable character fiercely loyal and easily swept up in the excitement of first love. No love story is complete, however without a third party thrown in the mix and it is especially intriguing once, as a reader, I found myself gunning for ‘the other woman’ to win Jimmy’s heart.


All is revealed, however, in a major twist towards the end of the story and the little tidbits of mystery, which Morton has sprinkled throughout the narrative, come together to create a more than satisfying resolution. The story really does have something for everyone; an intriguing mystery, blackmail, murder, the ebb and flow of sibling relationships over decades, an insight into London life during World War Two, the dangers of self obsession and of course, at the core of the story, a unique tale of two young lovers.