Set between the wars, the period is a fascinating one. So many of the young men were lost, with the women left behind. Frances and her mother have been left with a big house and bills to pay in a time where women were only just coming round to the idea of financial independence. Many of the men who returned from war, struggling to find employment, were bitter that the women had things better than them.

One things families like Frances’ could do was rent out rooms to lodgers; or paying guests as they called them to make them sound posher. I loved the chapters where they are getting used to the sounds upstairs, the invasion of privacy of having strangers in yours home but also the balance of allowing them to make the place their home too.

The minutiae of everyday life in the twenties is intricately described. It really wasn’t that long ago when all household chores were done by hand. The upkeep of a large house takes a lot of work, something families who had lost their staff during the war were coming to realise. We think of the twenties as a glamourous time but this book shows the other side of the coin.

The writing is maybe too descriptive, especially in places where it should be faster paced. It also means the book is too long in my opinion. The story drags out and loses some of its impact. The crime aspect of the story is also one that I’ve heard so many times before. Maybe the period and the people involved were different, but I just didn’t feel like I was reading anything new.

I was also disappointed it didn’t explore more about the political changes for women at the time. It was a period of great change and it hints at some things. At least Christina is living out a more modern life. Instead it is an intimate story of two people who become embroiled by fate but, I admit, I was expecting more from Sarah Waters.