Bought in a local charity shop today.

Description

A lost child: On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her - but the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret:On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell O'Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.

A mysterious inheritance:On Nell's death, her grand-daughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold - secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost

Very enjoyable and readable historical mystery. Some will find it overlong and intricate, each chapter being set in a different time and place, but I actually read it in large enough chunks that this was not a problem. There were minor irritants where apects of the story were a little unconvincing, and I did have some problem imagining the layout of the forgotten garden, but these do not really interfere with enjoyment of the story.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Given to a visitor to our house.