May 1, 2014
The niece of a scientist missing for 50 years receives a valise that could unlock the mystery of her aunt's 1914 disappearance in Williams' newest romance.It's 1964, and Bryn Mawr graduate Vivian Schuyler is working her way up from fact checker to writer at Metropolitan, the New York City magazine owned by her college friend Gogo's father. When her great-aunt Violet's suitcase mysteriously arrives at the post office, addressed to her, she decides to investigate her trailblazing ancestor's life; it doesn't hurt that she begins a romantic relationship with the handsome doctor who lugs the bag up to her fifth-floor apartment. But her family proves closemouthed about Aunt Violet, a progressive thinker who married her much-older Oxford professor and moved with him to Berlin. Even worse, Vivian finds out that the doctor has also been dating Gogo, and that relationship stalls. While Vivian sorts through her love-hate relationship with Dr. Paul, she explores the suitcase and finds troves of information: proof of a love affair between Violet and an Englishman; documents belonging to an American woman and her son; and a journal penned by Violet's husband detailing his sexual exploits. Convinced that the trail in the U.S. has run its course, Vivian continues her quest in London. As her search winds down and Vivian puts together the final pieces of information, she finally resolves the long-standing mystery and sets a course for her future. Williams competently advances the narratives of both women by alternating between Vivian's and Violet's stories. But although both are interesting protagonists, readers will find Vivian's wisecracking subterfuge annoying and question Violet's naive, subservient approach to her marriage, especially since she's previously been presented as a strong, intelligent woman.Even readers interested in pure escapism will want to know why Vivian's family wasn't interested in discovering the complete truth about Violet's fate prior to Vivian's investigation.
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April 15, 2014
This follow-up to "One Hundred Summers" is the story of two women whose dreams are challenged by society and familial expectations. Violet Schuyler is an intelligent young woman who is naive to the ways of the world when she meets Dr. Walter Grant, the noted physical chemist, who champions Violet's scientific career, and her gratitude leads her to fall in love with him. But she soon finds herself trapped in an unhappy marriage. Then Violet's husband's former protege, Lionel Richardson, arrives, leading her to a crisis point. In 1960s New York, Vivian Schuyler wants to write magazine articles instead of spending her days fetching coffee for her editor. When she receives a suitcase that once belonged to her scandalous Aunt Violet, rumored to have murdered her husband in 1914 and run off with her lover, Vivian is determined to uncover the truth. VERDICT Williams's latest is another absorbing page-turner filled with romance and secrets but with some flaws. While Violet's narrative will captivate readers with its intrigue and the protagonist's struggles, Vivian's story is less compelling and the plot strains believability toward the end. Fans of the earlier work will be delighted by the cameo appearance of Lily and other characters from that novel. [See Prepub Alert, 11/18/13.]--Christina Thurairatnam, Holmes Cty. Dist. P.L., Millersburg, OH
Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 15, 2014
Williams, author of the best-selling A Hundred Summers (2013), conjures up another substantive beach read steeped in history and familial intrigue. Separated by 50 years but joined together in spirit and ambition, Vivian Schuyler and Violet Schuyler Grant share equal parts of the narrative flow as the story leapfrogs back and forth between 1964 New York and 1914 Berlin. When Vivian accepts delivery of a musty parcel from the past, she is compelled to unlock the secrets that have shrouded the memory of her Great Aunt Violet. Though the blue-blooded Schuyler family has done its best to bury and ignore Violet's disgraceful pastshe was, after all, determined to pursue a career as a scientist!the deeper Vivian digs, the more invested she becomes in Violet's story. Rumor has it that Violet murdered her husband and mentor, Dr. Walter Grant, before mysteriously disappearing with her lover on the eve of WWI. As Vivian closes in on the past, she has a heart-wrenching problem of her own to resolve in the present. Readers will love wallowing in the twists and turns of this irresistibly luxurious tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)