THE
SNOW ANGEL
BY
LULU TAYLOR
THE
BLURB:-
Cressida
Fellbridge is living the high life as a debutante in 1960s London
society when she is courted by a friend of her brother's and is set
to marry. To mark the occasion, her father decrees that she must
have her portrait painted. But as soon as Cressie meets the painter
Ralph Few, she knows her life will never be the same again. She
falls deeply in love with Ralph but he is still married to Catherine.
As Cressie is drawn into a strange, triangular relationship,
Catherine's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, so Ralph and
Cressie escape to Cressie's family home in Cumbria. But Catherine
will not give up Ralph that easily...
In
the present day, Emily Conway has everything she could wish for: a
huge house, two beautiful children and a successful husband, Will.
But as they drive to a party one night, Will reveals that he has been
betrayed by his business partner. And then, in one shocking move,
their perfect life together ends. When Emily wakes from her
injuries, she is told of a mysterious legacy: a house in Cumbria,
left to her by a woman she has never met. Could this be the chance
to start anew? Or does this house have more secrets than answers?
THE
REALITY:-
What
a pleasure it was to read a good novel, after having to wade through
two previous boring books. When I was typing the back blurb for this blog, I do believe I came to another of those 'did the person who wrote the blurb
actually read the novel?' scenarios, as I don't recall Cressie's
portrait being commissioned to make her engagement. Yes, she had a
suitor but the relationship didn't appear to have gone that far.
Sigh. I'm pretty sure this is my first foray into the work of
Lulu Taylor, but it won't be the last. Yes, the book was too lacking
in depth for it to become a bookcase fixture, but the story was a
typical, nice page-turner. 'Pure indulgence and perfect
reading for a dull January evening,' said one inside leaf review, and
I get where they're coming from. I read this book approaching
Christmastime, so could easily relate to the cold weather and the
atmosphere of December House.
Both
lifestyles and eras- the 1960s and present day- are brought to life
throughout a very readable novel which contains a good mix of
characters. Mental illness features in the shape of both Catherine
and Tom, although I did question why the latter had to be in the
story at all. Oh well, I suppose his lifestyle experiences added some interest- he just
seemed superfluous to requirements. I've met men like Will before
(and the women who covet them) and they almost always come up as
lacking. There is more to life than money and status, you know.
Sure, cold hard cash is important, but anything over the basics
needed to live okay is an added bonus. He was another character who
'lost it', and I can sure as hell understand Emily wanting him dead.
I'm glad she received another chance in the form of her most
interesting legacy and I enjoyed reading how she solved the mystery
surrounding (spoiler alert!) her aunt Cressie.
I
had a (another spoiler alert!) spoiler of my own when the book
accidentally fell open at a later page, telling me that Catherine Few
was actually Ralph's sister. Oh well, I wasn't far behind anyway.
It's hard to work out Catherine's motives but I think we can safely
say that she was totally bonkers. Maybe we are led
to question how mental illness was treated fifty years ago compared
to today? Possibly.
I'm
glad both Emily and Cressie got happy endings and I'll certainly
check out the work of William Orpen, the artist whom Ralph's work is
based upon. A happy read.
