London, 1919: a city of ghosts and absences, haunted by the men who marched away but never came back.
‘A poignant and readable mystery’ THE TIMES
Grace Armstrong believes that she has come to terms with her own loss, the death of her dazzling fiancé who was declared Missing in Action. But soon he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams.
To make matters worse, a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Elizabeth Smith, who lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing.
Elizabeth had been more than a lodger; she had become a close friend to Grace, who feels compelled to uncover the true circumstances of her death. In doing so, she is drawn reluctantly into the sordid and dangerous underbelly of London and a scandal that rocked Edwardian society.
Will Grace find the answers she so desperately craves, or will she lose herself in the search?
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Praise for The Lodger
‘A deliciously Gothic page-turner’ BEST
‘A gripping historical mystery‘ A. J. WEST
‘[Helen Scarlett] has a gift for pulling readers into the twists and turns of her story’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘A devastating reveal and a tangled web I won’t forget’ AMANDA GEARD
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Reviews
A gripping historical mystery that confounds the impossible. The Lodger takes the longing of wartime heartbreak and wraps it in a wickedly deadly conundrum
I was gripped. A clever and richly imagined recreation of the Edwardian world with all its politesse and hypocrisies after the First World War
An intriguing mystery layered with deeper themes of loss and regeneration after the Great War. London in 1919 is richly atmospheric, and Grace Armstrong is a sympathetic and spirited protagonist
The atmosphere of post-WW1 London is beautifully evoked and richly detailed . . . I loved the character of Grace . . . It deserves to be a huge hit
A ghostly, immersive mystery threaded with twists and turns as evocative as the 20th-century London in which it is set . . . A devastating reveal and a tangled web I won't forget
A deliciously Gothic page-turner
[Helen Scarlett] has a gift for pulling readers into the twists and turns of her story
A poignant and readable mystery
An atmospheric, haunting tale
An atmospheric and tense period piece that drips in gothic brilliance