I love Suzanne Rindell’s writing, so I do not even need to read the flap to know I will want to read her latest book as soon as possible. The Two Mrs. Carlyles was excellent! Violet is a young orphan working as a cook in a house for dance girls. She survives by the skin of her teeth flying under the radar as much as possible and relying on an alliance with a couple of the “dancers.” When an earthquake hits, her employer and his mistress die, though the cause of death is hardly from a natural disaster. In fact, it is hardly natural at all. Violet and her friends Cora and Flossy realize there has been a murder, break into their employer’s safe and steal as much money as they can carry, and set out to begin again on their own. They plan to meet up near the Golden Gate Bridge in a year’s time. Violet finds a room in a boarding house and a job as a sales girl. She is eventually swept off her feet by the very wealthy widower Harry Carlyle. Harry’s first wife Madeline allegedly died in the earthquake, though the gossips say otherwise. Harry soon marries Violet. Her welcome to his mansion is anything but, with servants treating her coldly, particularly Miss Weber.
The Two Mrs. Carlyles reads like a modern day domestic thriller, and had me hooked from the start with great suspense. Rindell is a master at crafting a timeless story in an historical atmosphere. I was constantly tempted to trust her characters, though I deduced there were no reliable narrators and no one without an ulterior and self preserving motive. A thoroughly enjoyable page turner!
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