London in 1919, a city of ghosts and absences. Grace Armstrong believes that she has come to terms with her own loss, the death of her fiancé, the brilliant and dazzling best friend of her brother. He was declared Missing in Action during the Battle of the Somme, but he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams.
Grace is appalled when a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Elizabeth Smith, who has lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing.
Elizabeth had been more than a lodger; she had become a close friend to Grace, who feels compelled to find out what happened. In doing so she is drawn reluctantly into the sordid and dangerous underbelly of London and a scandal that rocked Edwardian society.
Soon Grace finds herself under threat, and the only person prepared to listen is the brooding Tom Monaghan.
But Tom has dark shadows of his own to navigate before being able to put his past behind him to help Grace in her quest for the truth.
The Lodger by Helen Scarlett is published on 23 March, 2023.
Helen’s last book, The Deception of Harriet Fleet, was shortlisted for the 2022 HWA Debut Crown Award.
