The housekeeper's secret

Grey's latest historical novel is a stirring tale of love, hope, and heartbreak alongside the tumult of personal trauma. Housekeeper Kate Furniss prides herself on running a tight operation at the once luxurious Coldwell Hall in 1911 England. New visitors finally bring change to the Derbyshire estate, including new staff. In particular, Kate finds herself drawn to the handsome new footman, enigmatic Jem Arden, despite her efforts to keep things professional. Jem, meanwhile, has his own reasons behind his arrival. Nine years earlier, his beloved younger brother, Jack, went missing. Jem's mission to uncover the truth behind Jack's disappearance has led him to Coldwell, where he is convinced the old manor, particularly its wealthy debauched owner, holds the answers he desperately seeks. While Jem hunts for clues, his relationship with Kate deepens, leading to a passionate secret romance. And as perspectives, seasons, and time lines shift, ghosts from the past, and nefarious doers of the present, come to light. Grey's discerning eye for historical detail resonates, bringing the characters' journeys and conflicts emotionally alive.

Grey (The Glittering Hour) delivers a fervent upstairs-downstairs drama set against the backdrop of WWI. At Coldwell Hall, Kate Furniss works as a housekeeper under a false name, having fled her abusive husband. She keeps a low profile until the arrival of Jem Arden, who's taken a job as a footman to find out what happened to his younger brother, Jack, a former servant who disappeared at Coldwell during a shooting party there years earlier. Relationships between staff members are forbidden, but Kate and Jem's mutual attraction overwhelms them, and they embark on a secret affair. After the death of patriarch Sir Henry Hyde, the estate passes to his son, Randolph, whose self-serving valet discovers Kate's true identity, prompting her to flee without alerting Jem. The consequences of the pair's forbidden romance are teased out in letters written by Jem, now a soldier, on the eve of the Battle of Somme in 1916. In them, he professes his love for Kate without knowing where to reach her. Meanwhile, Kate works as a housekeeper near Brighton and volunteers at a convalescent hospital for soldiers. Grey's insightful narrative sheds light on ways in which the war "jolted out of their "torpor," as one former Coldwell servant puts it, opening new opportunities for factory work and military service. This will keep readers turning the pages. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider. (Aug.)