A wonderfully compelling story with a dial timeline that seamlessly entwines and binds the lives of three women from 1939 London to the present day.
Eva Harlow and Precious Dubose meet at the train station in London in 1939. They become room mates and best friends working together as glamorous models at the House of Lushtak. Eva is reinventing herself having been born into poverty and violence. She meets Graham St John and her life changes dramatically. Eva and Precious wine and dine with Graham’s social group including Graham’s sister Sophia. Eva has secrets to hide and this becomes her downfall when she ends up involved with underworld figures who know about her past.
Madison Warner an American journalist is recruited by an old school friend Arabella to interview the now 99 year old Precious about her life in fashion during the war period. Maddie travels to London only to discover that a former boyfriend Colin is ‘related’ to Precious and lives with her in a London townhouse owned by Colin’s parents. Maddie has issues with her past and delving into the history of Precious and her family makes her realise what is important in life.
The story of Eva and Precious takes over the interview as Maddie, Colin and Arabella attempt to fit all the people and pieces of Precious’s life together before she dies. Memories, photos, dresses, handbags all reveal little clues of a life torn apart by war, secrets, love, betrayal and regret.
A gripping read with a mystery that keeps you intrigued till the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Publishing for sending me the ARC for this book. All quotes used in the review may be subject to change as this is book has not yet been published.

“But it did end. It had to. Every story had a final act, a place where the words “The End” could be written”

THE LAST NIGHT IN LONDON by Karen White

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book had me from page one and I could not put it down.

I absolutely fell in love with Eva’s character, and loved following her story. The 1940s is one of my favourite eras to write about, and Karen White captured the perfect imagery.

I read this in two days, I shed many tears and loved every single second of it. I had so many theories while reading this and cannot wait for others to read it so they can be discussed.

I have not rated a book five stars in a while, but this one definitely deserves it.

This book is released on April 20th 2021

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not normally a fan of historical fiction but the changing between past and present kept me turning the page to find out what happened next. For someone like myself who is not a historical buff at all I found this book also quite informative about what happened during the London blitz and found the author did it justice. Felt quite a fondness for the characters and connected with each one on a different level as they were well written. Will be looking up some of the authors other novels to read in future now. Thanks for a lovely and enjoyable read Karen 😀

Karen White, Last Night in London, Simon&Schuster, 2021

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this unproofed copy for review.

The prologue, set in London during the blitz, with dust, embers and buildings falling around a woman carrying a valise, determined to get to her destination despite planes bombing Oxford Street is wonderfully realised. The woman is hurt but will not stay in the shelter in which she leaves the occupant of the valise, a baby. She is left in a park, imagining ocean sounds, uttering a supplication, which the last line suggests will not be granted.

The novel then moves between London in 2019 and London during the second world war. The characters in 2019 have links with some of those featuring in the war sections and bringing them together are the beautiful trappings of the modelling world in which Eva Harlow and Jeanne Dubose initially thrive in pre-war London. In 2019 Madison and her friend are bringing some of these accoutrements to life in an article about the models, their world and their clothes. An interview with Precious, as Jeanne Dubose has become known, is central to the work. Although initially Madison concentrates on organising photographing the clothing and bags associated with Precious and her modelling world she is drawn to Precious as another damaged person with a story that needs airing. Precious is a distant relative of the Georgia born Madison and the two become the recipients of each other’s insecurities, need to be truly known and attempts to develop new approaches to, in Madison’s case living her life honestly and to the full, and for Precious, a rehabilitation from the past.

Both Precious and Madison have secrets, and these are explored throughout their relationship, the events of the war, in domestic and warfront events, and the quieter ones of 2019 London and, briefly, Georgia. In wartime London Eva and Precious are close friends, Precious helping Eva establish herself far from her roots as a working-class girl from the north of England to a middle-class model with the ‘right’ accent, manners and behaviour.

The novel has all the features of something that will be a good story with potentially interesting characters, a mystery which predictably will be solved, romance, intrigue and, as noted above, the well-drawn setting in the epilogue.

However, I was unable to be drawn into the story. I think mainly because I found the characters unengaging. Madison’s southern sayings were grating, sometimes because they were voiced in such inappropriate settings. For a person who has such strict control over her emotions in other circumstances I found these outbursts undermined rather than enhanced the characterisation. The clues to Precious’s (what an awkward name this is to convey ownership, and I wonder why it was used) secret were too stridently foreshadowed. The relationship between Madison and her university short term lover, Colin, helped develop the story of her evasion of commitment as well as linking to secrets from the past, and this was a clever device. The theme of reinvention, with its positive and negative aspects, also cast the links more broadly, taking in the personal associated with Eva and Precious, and the role of espionage that also features in the novel.

Similarly, I admired the beginning of the novel, and the connections between past and present were smoothly made. However, this was not enough. For me this novel was a disappointment.

Thank you as always to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced arc of this novel.

This was very jarring to read, as all throughout the book, dashes were in the wrong place, for exam-ple, this hap-pened through-out.

I didn't enjoy this at all. I don’t think the author has the faintest clue what London was like during the Blitz, let alone posh London. Names are pulled from The Peerage (look em up) which was bizarre. Plot unlikely. I saw the plot twist at 25%. Occasional flashes of brilliances in the modern dialogue, for example, Arabella, Colin and Maddie talking about her ring tones was HILARIOUS and rang completely true. But the dialogue in general was stiff and trite.

Needs a complete re-edit and re-write and remove those dashes!!!

#TheLastNightInLondon #NetGalley