I really like Rachel Hore's books, but this one bogged down in the middle. It needed a faster pace, in my opinion. The characters are great, though. ( )

An easy enjoyable read ( )

I am very grateful to my friend Rhiannon (and I don't often saying that!) for persuading me to read this book. It is certainly not the sort of work that I would normally have looked at twice if I had come across it in a bookshop as I would,no doubt, have dismissed it as "chick lit").. Well that just goes to show that one can't, or at least shouldn't, judge a book by its cover!

The novel moves between contemporary London where Emily Gordon works on the editorial staff of Parchment, a literary publisher and the late 1940s where Isabel Barber has fled the tedium of her home life in Kent for "The Smoke", pitching up unannounced at her Aunt Penelope's house asking to be put up for a few nights. Penelope (not one to be confined by orthodox rules) complies, and through her circle of acquaintances Isabel is introduced to the fringes of London's literary world, finding a low-paid job at the publishing house McKinnon and Holt. Through her diligence and patience Isabel becomes established at the publisher and shows a considerable flair for reviewing manuscripts. Before long she encounters Hugh Morton, an aspiring novelist whose first novel is to be published by McKinnon and Holt.. Isabel's guidance on the female perspective proves invaluable and she and Hugh fall in love, and eventually marry.

Meanwhile, back in the present day, Emily finds herself working on a project with Joel Richards who has been commissioned to write a biography of Hugh Morton, scheduled to coincide with the broadcast of a new television adaptation of "The Silent Tide", Morton's masterpiece. Her interest in the project is spurred when she starts to receive old manuscripts and notes that were clearly written by Isabel. there is no indication of where they are coming from, but they appear to be genuine and show a different perspective on Isabel's marriage to Hugh from that emerging in Joel's biography.

The plot develops seamlessly and completely credibly, and the characters are also totally believable, coming together to make a very entertaining and enjoyable novel. ( )