Libby has been very responsible with money, romance, and career, likely to find the stability she lacked during childhood with her flighty mother. But her mother is actually her adoptive mother and when Libby turns 25 in the first paragraph of the novel, she opens a letter containing her birthright, which turns out to be the deed to a mansion at a very posh London address. Libby knew her birth parents had died when she was an infant, but she soon learns the circumstances were very strange. After discovering an article that guesses at cult-like activities and a triple suicide having occurred in the house, Libby decides to do some digging to understand what really happened at 16 Cheyne Walk. Meanwhile, two other people have a vested interest in what happens once “the baby” returns to the house. One is rushing back from France to see her as she inherits the home, the other is the son of the house who tells what it was like to live in that house in an almost ghost story-like way.
It took me a hot minute to follow the story, given the shifting perspectives and settings. I think the point is to add to the intrigue, but it made it harder for me to engage at first. However, once I wrapped my head around it, I was super into it.
3.75 out of 5 stars
Pair with: Framboise lambic
Peaches to Apples 