The London House

By: Katherine Reay

Narrated by: Madeleine Maby

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Uncovering a dark family secret sends one woman through the history of Britain’s World War II spy network and glamorous 1930s Paris to save her family’s reputation.

Caroline Payne thinks it’s just another day of work until she receives a call from Mat Hammond, an old college friend and historian, but Mat has uncovered a scandalous secret kept buried for decades: In World War II, Caroline’s British great-aunt betrayed family and country to marry her German lover.

Determined to find answers and save her family’s reputation, Caroline flies to her family’s ancestral home in London. She and Mat discover diaries and letters that reveal her grandmother and great-aunt were known as the “Waite sisters.” Popular and witty, they came of age during the interwar years, a time of peace and luxury filled with dances, jazz clubs, and romance. The buoyant tone of the correspondence soon yields to sadder revelations as the sisters grow apart, and one leaves home for the glittering fashion scene of Paris, despite rumblings of a coming world war.

Each letter brings more questions. Was Caroline’s great-aunt actually a traitor and Nazi collaborator, or is there a more complex truth buried in the past? Together, Caroline and Mat uncover stories of spies and secrets, love and heartbreak, and the events of one fateful evening in 1941 that changed everything.

In this rich historical novel from award-winning author Katherine Reay, a young woman is tasked with writing the next chapter of her family’s story. But Caroline must choose whether to embrace a love of her own and proceed with caution if her family’s decades-old wounds are to heal without tearing them even further apart.

Praise for The London House:

“Carefully researched, emotionally hewn, and written with a sure hand, The London House is a tantalizing tale of deeply held secrets, heartbreak, redemption, and the enduring way that family can both hurt and heal us. I enjoyed it thoroughly.”—Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names

• A stand-alone split-time novel
• Partially epistolary: the historical storyline is told through letters and journals
• Book length: approximately 102,000 words

©2021 Katherine Reay (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

“Carefully researched, emotionally hewn, and written with a sure hand, The London House is a tantalizing tale of deeply held secrets, heartbreak, redemption, and the enduring way that family can both hurt and heal us. I enjoyed it thoroughly.” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times best-selling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars and The Book of Lost Names)

“An expertly researched and marvelously paced treatise on the many variants of courage and loyalty.... Arresting historical fiction destined to thrill fans of Erica Roebuck and Pam Jenoff.” (Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration and The Mozart Code)

Unique and validating

If you like unique storytelling methods, love history and crave romance, restoration, and satisfying conclusions, this novel is for you. Told through twin sisters’ diaries and letters as the hero and heroine investigate the truth of a family mystery from WWII, I was pulled deep into the tangle made of withheld truth, desperate times, and bone-deep grief. The characters lived in the narrator’s voice and Reay’s words. I didn’t want to stop listening.

Two thumbs up

A great listen, and I enjoyed the voices. Intriguing, exciting, and heart-jerking. I recommend this one!

Great story, narrator

The story was GREAT!! I didn't love the narrator though. It seemed to me that she pronounced the words too precisely and it lost a sense of feeling. It was better when she was speaking for other characters, but could have been so much better. I stuck through it for the story though, FANTASTIC!!

Outstanding

This book was fabulous. It had information that I had not known about the war. Really great story! The basic theme is how history can change generations of one family.

Enjoyable Enough

An engaging listen with good narration. The story itself is in the 3.5 range. Nothing special, nothing of superior excellence, but an enjoyable listen nonetheless.

characters

I didn’t relate to the modern day characters. The protagonist doesn’t remember her love interest, then remembers who was one of the kindest people despite evidence to the contrary. He gives her history lectures which she listens to with delight.

Wonderful Narration!

I’m so glad I listened to this vs reading. The narrator did a wonderful job with all the various accents and retelling when it was present day, a letter, and past.

Captivating

An amazing, captivating loving story. Very interesting and historical story. Very good performance. Couldn’t stop listening. Thanks

Captivating and Caring

Interesting story telling technique woven throughout. Family bonds and split time well done. Good story and presentation. Will seek others by author.

Intriguing

Really liked this story. Spy novel on the surface but it also explores families and siblings’ bonds in a very compelling way. Didn’t love the narrator, but loved the story.