The Winter Folly

Lulu Taylor is an author who's books have been calling to me for a year or so, each one is presented with such beautiful artwork and wonderful mysterious titles that seem to fit just perfectly with the winter and festive seasons however it's taken me till now to delve into my first book by this author and I decided I'd begin with her earliest release The Winter Folly.

It is worth mentioning upfront that despite it's wintry title and cover this book actually is not one set in the festive season nor is is a book that should be regarded as exclusive only to this time of year, in fact it is one you can enjoy at any time of year. It's a story of two women living decades apart and their connection to the old house Fort Stirling and the men who have inherited that house and it's many secrets.

The first story in the book is that of Alexandra in the 1960's. A young girl at the outset of the book she is told by her father that she is to be married to the son of one of his friends. At only 17 Alexandra is young and inexperienced and with a fractious relationship with her father she agrees to the marriage as a way of mending their relationship. The marriage is not a happy one though and soon she learns that she has made a terrible mistake. She meets and falls in love with another man and the book follows the events that result from her affair and her life from that point through to the day she disappears mysteriously, suspected of committing suicide.

The second story is Delilah's story. Married to the heir to Fort Stirling and the title of Lord Stirling she has left her fashionable life in London behind and followed her husband to his ancestral home. Despite her grand plans for the house she finds herself swallowed up by it's dark and oppressive atmosphere and the secrets that no one seems to be prepared to talk about. Her husband has become withdrawn in his childhood home and is unhappy and their inability to conceive a child is adding strain to their life.

It's a wonderful story, blending together beautifully the tale of Alexandra and Delilah. Often in stories of this nature you find that one character in the split time period story is stronger than the other and so you long to always be in that moment with your ‘favourite' part of the story. In this book however I found I wanted to spend equal time with both of the characters and their tales. I also loved how this book really did keep it's secrets right through until the end of the novel. It was like a trail of breadcrumbs that you slowly followed through to it's conclusion and nothing gave anything away too early or made you feel like you'd ‘guessed' the ending.

I found this book was one that kept on calling me back to the story, it was very easy to pick it up and think “I'll only read a chapter” and then suddenly find yourself 5 chapters further on and entranced by the story. A true testament to it's author. Whilst it wasn't themed at all in winter as I had expected I didn't feel cheated by this and it didn't detract from the story at all. It reminded me very much of books by Kate Morton and Rachel Hore and if you like those authors then this book may very well be just what you are looking for.

I cannot wait to read my next book by Lulu Taylor and now knowing that they aren't isolated to the festive or winter season I am sure I won't be waiting till next Christmas to read the next one.