A beautiful book cover and an intriguing, enigmatic title meant that I was already hooked by this new release, written by local writer, Polly Crosby. Then I heard that Blythburgh in Suffolk was the inspiration for the setting for this story.

This is Polly's third novel and I am sorry to say that I haven't yet read her earlier books - though I will be looking them up very soon. 

The story takes place over two timelines. In 1938 Lady Vita Goldsborough's life is confined by the demands and restrictions of her older brother, Aubrey, until she meets a local painter Dodie Blakeney who offers her a chance to escape.

In 1997 we meet Eve, who is Dodie's granddaughter. Eve has returned to Suffolk on the premature death of her mother to pack up her studio near the coast. She is commissioned by a mysterious old lady to paint a portrait and as she does so, learns secrets about the past for the community and for her family.

There's a wonderful gothic feel to the book. The mysteries surrounding the women kept me turning the pages, lost in the mood and atmosphere, with all the action taking place beneath the towering Cathedral of the Marshes. I loved it!