Publication week for this historical novel that gives the reader a look into the lives of two women, from different social strata with equally stultifying expectations and how they cross boundaries to live their authentic lives.
It spans the time period between the near end of World War I to the unstable pre-war years of 1930s Europe. It is a time of limited choices for women but the two protagonists of this story stretch the boundaries of what was expected of them and most certainly, what were considered acceptable paths.
The book opens in 1936, years after Edie and Vee first meet in Malta as World War I is ending. Edie is attending Vee’s funeral. She is skeptical that Vee is really dead, given what she knows about her friend’s troubled marriage.
From that opening, the reader is taken back to 1918 Malta. Edie, part of the WRNS, (Women’s Royal Navy Service) meets Vee, a nurse, who introduces her to a life of pushing boundaries. They smoke, drink, dance, swim, and fall in love. Spending an idyllic private time together, their need and love for one another is sealed.
But the two women are of different social classes. From Malta, Vee goes home to marry a wealthy, adventurous man and to live a traditional upper class life—children, governesses, parties, travel, etc. Edie is expected to go home and live, ultimately to care for her parents as they age.
Their lives don’t turn out as expected. Vee has trapped herself in an impossible marriage. Edie escapes home and makes a life for herself as a social worker. Her life simple but independent. Although not able to see one another, the two women are bound by their correspondence. Edie’s metamorphosis is gradual. Vee’s begins brightly but then become tragic.
Abruptly, the letters from Vee stop. This is where the mystery. begins Two years of silence until a package of detective stories arrives from Paris. They have no note. Because the books are in French. Edie knows they are from Vee, who not only joyfully derided her enjoyment of these types of novels but is also fluent in multiple languages. She knows Vee sent her this as a clue but where is she and how will Edie find her?
I loved how this story was grounded in the history of the time. Two women, whose choices were always to be limited find a way to break free when they are young by joining the war effort. In this exotic and beautiful island of Malta, they experience their authentic selves both sexually and in friendship. As time moves on, the sinister threat of the Nazis and the prospect of another war engages them once again.
This was a mesmerizing story of two courageous women who came into their own by very different choices. It is a romantic love story but it is also about how the love of the right person can help you access who you want to be and how to live.
Both Edie and Vee were very complicated characters, deftly drawn. Jack, Vee’s husband, a bully who had not earned his wealth or position, was a sharp contrast. Edie’s brother, injured in the first war, was an example of how expectations need to be shattered. His relationship with Edie was a pleasure to read. There were other minor characters who fit perfectly in the jigsaw puzzle of change and stagnancy.
This wasn’t the story I was expecting but I was totally engaged. I thought the title a bit misleading. Although work as a translator launched the mystery, it was hardly the thrust of the book. And didn’t give equal billing to Edie.
It was hard to put down. It could have been a simple story but it wasn’t at all. The author recreated a world of the past that has flickers of making a comeback.
Annabelle Marx is the author of the bestselling The Herbalist’s Secret, The Rebel of Seventh Avenue, and now this novel.. She has recently been shortlisted for the Historical Romance Award at the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards (RONAs) 2026.
