I found myself drawn into the novel because of its leisurely pacing, which gives the characters depth, and because it depicts postwar mourning and a society that is changing in terms of women's roles and social mobility. There are many twists and turns to make this a true page-turner, and the plot is masterfully crafted with not a word wasted and colorful, believable characters. I was engrossed in Grace's universe and found it impossible to put the read down.

This is set in London 1919. The description of post war London was very good. The characters were well developed. The pacing was far too slow. It had too much romance in for a mystery

Having read this authors previous novel and thoroughly enjoyed it, I was absolutely thrilled to be offered this title to review. Full of wonderful historic detail once again that immediately drew me into the storyline. A good read but unfortunately let down somewhat by a hurried, rather anti climatic, disappointing ending I felt.

Well written but not terribly suspenseful. Still enjoyable and the period is well drawn with interesting characters.

I really enjoyed this novel, set in a period of time that isn’t usually written about outside the context of the roaring twenties. The author really focuses on the loss and realities of the post war era and with regards to the story, I really did not see those twists coming! I look forward to reading more from this author, thanks for the opportunity to read and review NetGalley!

[dnf at 35%]

If the publisher can give me a single example of what makes this book differ from any other historical murder mystery with a two-word title that starts with "The...", I will gladly pick it up again and even pay for the experience.

A war to end all wars…

Elizabeth Smith has lodged with the Armstrong family in Tufnell Park in London for several years, becoming a friend to them all, and especially to Grace, the daughter of the house. While Grace is away from home on a visit, Elizabeth receives a letter – a highly unusual occurrence for this rather isolated woman – and a visit from a strange man, whom the servants felt was threatening. By the time Grace returns, Elizabeth has destroyed all her personal property and left, leaving no forwarding address. Grace is a little hurt, but mostly she’s concerned – it all seems so out of character for Elizabeth. And then a body is found in the Thames. When it is confirmed that it is Elizabeth and the police seem content to call it suicide and let the matter drop, Grace finds she can’t let go – she must find out more about Elizabeth’s past and what drove her to leave as she did.

Set just after the end of the Great War, this is as much an examination of the impact of the losses so many endured as it is a mystery. Scarlett evokes her post-war setting excellently, both physically and emotionally. She shows a society where no person has been untouched by loss – even those lucky enough to have their sons or husbands return to them have to deal with the psychological aftermath, or in many cases with lives shattered by life-changing injuries. But she also shows the resilience that somehow allows people to go on, to start fresh and to begin the slow process of rebuilding lives or building new ones. She shows society changing, with the working classes unwilling to go back to the rigid class systems of before and less deferential than they once were. Servants are hard to come by, since women have had the experience of doing more exciting and better paid jobs in factories and offices during the war, and don’t relish returning to the drudgery of domestic labour. For the middle and upper classes, the old rules of social interaction between the sexes are gone too – no more chaperones, nightclubs springing up, ladies drinking cocktails and smoking! For by far the most part, it’s entirely credible and free of anachronism, with just an occasional word choice that doesn’t quite feel right.

Unfortunately near the end two of the compulsory themes of the decade are dragged in – homophobia and sexual abuse. I assume authors can’t get publishing contracts without them, a bit like the new Oscar rules. At least racism was omitted for once. It’s not that I object to any of these themes – I’d just like them not to be quite so ubiquitous. I love chocolate fudge cake, but I don’t want it with every meal. Believe it or not, there are other aspects of the human condition worth exploring. And in this case, I felt the subjects of loss and renewal were more than sufficient, especially since she dealt with them so well.

Apart from that, I found the story interesting and compelling. Grace, who is our main character, has herself lost both a brother and her fiancé, and the story of her slow process of grief and gradual recovery is sensitively done. She too has had grim wartime experiences, working with severely injured men as a VAD nurse, and is now, still only at the age of 22, working with a nursing magazine, hoping it might lead to an opening into journalism. She is a strong, resilient and likeable character whose investigations stay well within the limits of believability throughout. With the help of her friends and the family servants, she begins to trace back through Elizabeth’s life on the basis of the few scraps of information they have all gleaned from this very private woman over the years. As Elizabeth’s past is slowly uncovered, we are led to some dark and shocking revelations.

It’s a slow unravelling of the mystery, but steady, so that I didn’t feel it dragged at any point. The pace allows for plenty of space to explore different reactions to the cataclysm of the war, from those men directly affected trying to deal with mental and physical injuries, to those who had endured a long wait ending perhaps with the awfulness of the telegram telling them their son or brother or lover would not be coming home. Scarlett reminds us that for many the verdict was missing, presumed dead, leaving a tiny glimmer of hope that cruelly drags out the process of acceptance. She shows us how this feeds into the rise of spiritualism, as people desperately seek some kind of closure – the possibility at least of saying goodbye, when there isn’t even a grave to visit. We see how society is divided into those who find comfort in the belief that the fallen had died gloriously for a great cause and those who feel it had all been an unforgivable waste, and how each side of that divide unintentionally adds to the hurt of the other. And yet through all this, Scarlett avoids mawkishness and over-sentimentality.

So, despite my mild disappointment at the late introduction of over-used themes, overall I loved this one. A strong mystery contained within an authentic in-depth look at a specific and significant period in time, and peopled by characters I grew to like and care about. I will certainly be reading more from this talented author, and recommend this one highly.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Gorgeous cover on this book.

The Lodger by Helen Scarlett is a gripping and haunting gothic tale set in post-World War I London. When the body of Elizabeth Smith, a lodger who had become a dear friend to Grace, is found in the Thames after disappearing suddenly, Grace is drawn into the dangerous underbelly of London to uncover what happened to Elizabeth.

Despite my usual aversion to novels set during wartime, I was thoroughly engrossed in this book. The author did a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere and era with vivid descriptions, and the mystery itself was well-crafted and kept me intrigued until the end.

While I enjoyed the characters and found them well-developed and likable, I felt that the romance between Grace and Tom was a weak point in the story. However, as someone not currently invested in romance novels, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

Overall, The Lodger is an excellent read for fans of historical fiction with its captivating plot and realistic portrayal of post-war London.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This is a historical mystery which follows Grace, who is a young woman desperate to find answers after Elizabeth her lodger, disappears. Set just after the world War, we also get an insight into the devastating effects it caused to those who fought, and to those left behind to face the tragedy of their loss. This is a gothic novel, which made this a very atmospheric read. The characters were hard to feel in touch with as they weren’t very deep and didn’t really have much personality however the plot was intriguing and the drip fed little cIues throughout this book keep your interest. Overall an enjoyable book

This second novel from the author of The Deception of Harriet Fleet takes us back to the aftermath of the Great War in another haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale. Pick up this novel and you will find it hard to put it down again, and when you have read it, you will find it easy to believe that you have actually been there experiencing the story yourself.

The Lodger is an interesting historical fiction novel set in the period post WW1 and the Spanish Flu epidemic. It’s a period I’m particularly interested in and I was drawn to the premise and how it brought the changes of that time into the plot of the story. This was a time of personal and national mourning, with the war appearing like a scar cut right across the public’s consciousness that hasn’t yet had time to heal. Our heroine, Grace, has a family torn apart by grief. She lost her brother Edward at the front and her parents grieved very differently, with her father keeping quite stoic and her mother struggling to cope. Eventually it was decided that for her own good, Grace’s mother would go and rest in an institution where she could be cared for properly. Grace also lost her fiancé Robert at the Somme, a loss she’s struggling to come to terms with as she keeps seeing him on the street, in crowds and on buses. Yet she can never find him. In order to make ends meet and to further an ambition Grace has taken a job at a nursing newspaper and wants to become a journalist, something that would have been unthinkable a few years before. Similarly, to make ends meet in their London home, they have taken in a lodger. Many well-to-do families were forced to do this at the time and Grace has struck up quite a friendship with Elizabeth, a church going woman who was proving to be a great friend. So when Elizabeth is found dead in the river and the police quickly rule it a suicide, Grace is shocked but determined to leave no stone unturned in finding out about the death of her friend.

The historical background was woven into the story so well: a general sense of everyone mourning someone, the fact that women’s positions in society were changing and the difficulties for those returning from the horrors they’ve seen. It was great that this was sometimes incidental background, such as someone Grace goes to speak to having a bad morning, because it’s the anniversary of his son’s death. It gave a real sense that this was an all pervasive grief and hung over the whole country. We would see it in more depth in certain characters. Her friend Edward still has an air of the last century in the way he deals with what he’s seen. He’s very protective of Grace and doesn’t want to tell her things that might distress her, and you get the sense he will take his experiences to the grave. Whereas his friend Tom is willing to be more vulnerable and has clearly suffered mentally since he returned with PTSD. He’s more willing to share with Grace and be honest about what the war has cost him. A character that really shows a change in women’s behaviour is Lady Bunty Jaggers, a friend of Grace’s mother. Grace asks for help in reaching a society lady whose husband knew Elizabeth, so goes to meet Bunty in her London home. She is a very colourful character and has an interesting way of looking at her marriage and what it gives her. She could leave her husband, but at the moment she has the best of both worlds. She’s cushioned by his money and title, but he remains resolutely in the country and she stays in their London townhouse living entirely separate lives. She’s also very forthright about Grace’s mother, suggesting that all the care home does is medicate her to the point of being unconscious. She thinks Grace should take her away from there and simply let her cope with the grief unmedicated, after all grief is normal.

Grace uncovers a terrible story of Elizabeth’s past life, including sexual impropriety, blackmail and possibly murder. None of which seems to fit with the Elizabeth she knew. She will need to interview many people, some of the them wealthy and very dangerous, to get to the truth. Was Elizabeth a changed woman because of all the wrongs she’d committed before or is there more to this story than meets the eye. Grace will need all of her investigative skills to uncover what really happened and she needs to keep an eye out for whoever is watching her and potentially wants to stop her. There were parts of the book that were a little slow and it could have benefited from a chapter or two from Elizabeth’s point of view in a separate timeline. However, I did enjoy that this news about female friendship and going the extra mile for someone who has been good to you, no matter what others say. Grace’s loyalty and determination are evident here. She also shows loyalty to her mother and a willingness to defy her father when she thinks he’s wrong. I really enjoyed how their mother daughter relationship developed.over the book. Finally there’s a little bit of romance too and a choice to be made between a man who is loyal, kind and would keep her safe or a different man who is more progressive, open and would see her as a partner, not a dependent. I liked that this choice was left till late in the book, because it would signify how Grace saw her future.

I usually enjoy a historic read and a fan of suspense style novels so from the book description I thought this could be a good twist of both genres.

While it was an easy read, for me, I found it quite slow and maybe more quaint than dangerous.

I think this would suit readers who enjoy a more character based story rather than something fast-paced.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Set in a traumatic setting, such as that of London after World War I, and with major social changes in just one generation, The Lodger creates the perfect setting for a crime full of sordid details. Elizabeth, a lodger in Grace's family home, is found drowned in the Thames just days after disappearing without a trace. The shock of the news, along with the trauma of losing her fiancé and her brother during the war, makes Grace dreaming about them all and decides to investigate her friend's death.

What did I enjoy from The Lodger?

The Lodger is easy to read, despite using period-specific vocabulary. There are no complicated structures or complex vocabulary, which helps to keep the reading pace. If you are looking for an book to improve your English, The Lodger is a good choice.

The description of London in 1919 is detailed and immersive, it is one of my favorite parts of the entire book. If you have ever visited London, you will be able to frame the story within the historical part of the city. If not, there are thousands of movies that can help you with the setting.

The central plot is linear with flashbacks. When it comes to solving a case with a past full of secrets, flashbacks are inevitable. And, in this case, the author manages to frame them so well, that they do not distract yopu from the main timeline.

What would I improve in The Lodger?

The main issue I find with this book is that characters are flat. Despite the fact that the plot takes place in a space of about 6 months, the events don't seem to have too much influence on the characters' lives, beyond slightly modifying their routine. The few changes that you can be appreciate in Grace, Tom, or in any of the dozen characters in this story, seem come from the natural passage of time and the process of overcoming the trauma of war.

Grace seems to accepte the discoveries about Elizabeth's death and life like completing a puzzle. Elizabeth's story is full of secrets and taboos. But the information Grace gathers during the months following Elizabeth's death have no consequence. The final scenario would be exactly the same if the crime of the central plot was any other; and, what should have been the main story of the novel, becomes a secondary plot.

On the other hand, there are so many subplots in the novel that, in order to prevent it from getting too long, the author doesn't go into depth and they are resolved by surprise. A more limited number of subplots would allow them to be built in more detail and would enrich the main plot.

The Lodger

When a dead body is found in the Thames, Grace Armstrong is shocked to identify it as Catherine Smith, the lodger at her family home. She decides to discover the truth about her friend’s death and cannot be stopped by reluctant police officers or a lack of information about Catherine. Soon, she discovers that the case is connected to a gruesome crime...

The Lodger is an interesting position. The action takes place in London in 1919, and the city seems to be mourning the sons and husbands lost in the war. Grace’s fiancé was one of the soldiers declared missing after the Battle of Somme, and she cannot accept this loss. Grace is convinced that he is alive and sees him on the street of London. This overwhelming grief gives the novel a melancholic atmosphere, contrasted by the scenes where Grace visits relatively modern clubs with her friends. The story's central theme is the investigation of Catherine’s life and death. It turns out that she had many secrets and a turbulent past. Soon, Grace’s actions are noticed by those interested in keeping the truth hidden...

I enjoyed this atmospheric, well-written book and would recommend it to everyone. Especially that, despite the gloom, there is a bit of romance.

The story takes place just after The Great War and it was beautifully written and shows via Scarlett survivors guilt felt by those left. The story unfolds into ammystery with twists & turns with scandal , infidelity and murder. If you enjoy slow burning mysteries you will love this

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in return for an honest opinion

I really enjoyed this historical novel set in 1919 London. A mystery is set up from the prologue when the body of a woman in a blue coat is found near London bridge. Grace Armstrong is a young woman who lost both her brother and fiancé in the war. She lives with her father at the family home Ryedale Villa, her mother is in a hospital with depression after the death of her son. After seeing the report in the newspaper about the body, it’s feared that it may be their former lodger, Elizabeth Smith who had moved out only two weeks before after living there for eight years. Grace starts looking into Elizabeth’s life (she can’t believe it was suicide) and there’s much more than she expected.
I was drawn into the story, the characters are given depth by the slowish pace and there’s an atmosphere of postwar grief and a changing society, within both class mobility and women’s roles.

London, 1901. Since the end of the Great War, Grace Armstrong feels as if life has passed her by in some respects. She works at 'Nursing World', a small magazine but longs for more. Her fiancé, Robert, was listed as missing, presumed killed in action at the Somme, & she misses him & mourns their lost future. Her brother Edward was badly injured by shrapnel & died undergoing one of several operations needed. Even since his death, their mother has been distraught & is currently in a nursing home after a mental breakdown, & it's just been Grace, her father, & their lodger, the quiet unassuming Elizabeth Smith, alongside the few remaining staff, maid Bridget, & cook, Mrs Watson, at home. Grace is, therefore, shocked when she returns home after a short visit away, & is told that Elizabeth packed up her things, burned everything else including her artwork, & disappeared & has not been heard from since.

Edward & Robert's friend, Arthur, comes to visit & brings with him another colleague, Tom, who was injured & had to have several fingers amputated, putting to an end his music career. Tom is bitter about the war & clashes with Grace's father who keeps the quintessential English 'stiff upper lip' about his emotions & believes in the sacrifices made. When the body of a woman is found in the river, the description of what she was wearing is familiar & Grace goes along to the police station with a photograph & gets confirmation that sadly Elizabeth is dead. She cannot believe that the police are going to write it off as a suicide though - the Elizabeth she knew was not in that frame of mind, but as Grace investigates what happened with the surprising help of Tom, she finds that perhaps she didn't know their lodger as well as she thought.

After reading the wonderful 'The Deception of Harriet Fleet' by the same author, I thought it would be a difficult act to follow. I needn't have been concerned, as although this takes place in a different era & a completely different subject, it was just as good. The story takes place just after the 'Great War' (WWI) & Scarlett aptly conveys the grief & the guilt felt by those who survived. The plot gradually unfolds into a story which has many twists & turns & covers blackmail, infidelity, scandal, & murder. There's also a hint of the unknown as Grace is convinced she keeps seeing Robert everywhere but when she chases him down, he has always disappeared. Is Grace imagining things or is Robert still alive? If you enjoy slow burning mysteries in historical settings, or you enjoyed the author's debut novel. then you should give this a try too.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Quercus Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Well this book had me all over the place, it started as a missing person case then turn into a murder investigation. This was not all though it then turned into a story about family secrets and how this is effecting the family and friends of those that they effect. This is set in a time period of when the UK is trying to recover from WW2 and the loses and grief which has swept the country. We follow a main character who has lost her fiancé, her mother is suffering mental illness and she is trying to move on with her life. It depicts not only her investigating the death of her friend however it is her story of recovery.

As the world is reeling from the devastation and loss of life following the events of World War I, Grace is determined to discover what befell her friend and lodger, Elizabeth, when she is found dead in the River Thames under mysterious circumstances.

A gothic tale set in the seedy London underworld, atmospheric and exploring the theme of grief should have had all the hallmarks of a strong historical novel. Sadly, for me, I found it less enjoyable than I wanted it to be.

While the prose is smooth enough to make for easy reading, I found the storyline itself to be a little overly complicated without it needing to be and too long so that, unfortunately, I found my attention slipping elsewhere.

The exploration of grief is handled with great sensitivity and I found the gloomy descriptions of post-war London a strong factor in setting the scenes for the action as the story progressed.

Sadly, my main issue was the supporting love story which I found to be unconvincing and underdeveloped - so this was where my attention slipped away often.

I did really want to enjoy this novel as it is less often you find stories set in the World War I and especially the post-World War I part of history, however I just could not enjoy it as much as I hoped.

Many thanks of course to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me an early copy.

I liked books set in the aftermath of WWI and this one was quite good. There's a sense of emptyness, there's grief, and there's plenty of twists to keep the attention alive.
You don't know who you can trust and everyone seems to have secrets. It's a gothic novel but it also reminded me of the mystery of the Golden age. So full of grief, anger, and secrets,
A riveting and atmospheric read, a bit slow at the beginning.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine