RATING: GOOD
SPOILERS!!!
The novel starts slow but then its pace quickens. It starts when Silvia phones Gerald, urging him and Eve to come to her. Silvia then shows her a letter in which an anonymous sender accuses her of going with men, which made her husband drink himself to death. Both Eve and Gerald are shocked. The letter is composed with cut-out letters, and as they wonder who could send something like this, Silvia and Gerald hint that it could be May, the old nanny, because she has never liked her. Eve can't believe it. Sending poison pen letters is a crime but Silvia agrees not to report May. Gerald and Eve agree not to say anything and Gerald only tells Ivan about it.
Laura is enjoying her time in Cornwall, and Ivan is kind enough to spend time with her. Then Alec calls, saying that he needs to cut his holiday in Scotland short because he and his partner, Tom, need to go to New York. Tom is taking Daphne and Alec wants Laura to go with him. Laura doesn't like Daphne, so he tells Alec that she doesn't feel well enough yet.
Alec leaves for New York, and what he doesn't know is that Gabriel is on her way to London. When she arrives at the house, only the housekeeper is there, and she tells her that her father is travelling to New York, and Laura, his new wife, is in Cornwall, but she doesn't know where exactly. There is a letter for Alec, and Gabriel opens it in case it gives her the clue where Laura is. It is a poison pen letter, which tells Alec that his wife is having an affair with Ivan, and it mentions the house. Gabriel knows where to find Laura, so she travels there by train.
When she arrives, everybody is still sleeping, and Ivan is the only one who wakes up and welcomes her. They have breakfast together, and they hit it off. When Eve wakes up and sees Gabriel, she is overjoyed. Laura, whose dog Lucy has been ill overnight, is glad to see Gabriel, and she is sorry that Alec is not here as well.
Later in the day Gabriel shows Gerald the letter, and as they talk, Gabriel agrees that she can't see Ivan and Laura having an affair. Gerald shows it to Ivan and they wonder if maybe Drusilla could be the anonymous writer.
Gabriel and Laura talk, and the former tells her that she is pregnant. At home in America things were good at the beginning, but a couple of years later her mother's husband took a liking to her, so she decided to study in New York, but when she finished studying, she couldn't move back home, so she met a British guy and went to the Virgin Islands, where they lived together for nine months. Gabriel has no intention to contact him again or tell him about the baby because she thinks he is married. Laura says that she is welcomed to stay with her and Alec, and she knows that Alec will be happy.
That day Laura, Ivan, Gerald and Eve go swimming, and when they return, Laura is devastated to find her dog dead. That night Gerald calls Alec, tells him about Gabriel, the letters and her suspicion that Lucy, the dog, has been poisoned. Alec takes the first plane home, and he is delighted to see Gabriel and comforts Laura.
Later that day Alec drives to Silvia's home. They were friends when they were very young. Now Alec confronts her, and he says that he knows that she sent the letters after he finds some scraps of paper in a bonfire in her garden. He says that she sent herself the first letter to prevent suspicion. Silvia admits to sending the letter because she feels Laura has everything, and Alec should be hers. When they were teenagers, he kissed her, and she always hoped to have his love. But Alec married Erica, and then she had to marry Tom. When Erica left Alec, Tom was sick but lasted for a couple of years, and when he died, Alec was married to Laura already. Alex is shocked and realises that she is not well and Silvia has a mental breakdown. The doctor comes and sends an ambulance to take her to hospital. Alec tells Eve, and she feels very sorry, but Alec makes her see that Silvia was ready to put the blame on May and Drusilla.
Alec and Laura stay several days more, and they are ready to leave, but then Gabriel announces that she is staying. She and Ivan are in love and he doesn't care she is pregnant. Actually, he is even excited. Laura understands because she felt so strongly for Alec.
I really enjoyed the book. The first part was a bit too slow and nothing much happened, but the last part was really interesting.
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