The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published August 14th 2018 by Crown Publishing Group (NY)
(first published February 22nd 2018)
Genre: Historical Fiction,Romance
Book Summary
Louisa Reeve has it all: a charming, devilishly handsome husband with a successful business as a sapphire trader, a beautiful home in colonial Ceylon, a fledgling career of her own. Except for the one thing she longs for more than anything: a child. After the couple experience a number of devastating miscarriages, Louisa becomes increasingly frustrated by Eliot's unexplained absences. When a tragic accident causes Elliot's sudden death, Louisa, wracked by grief is left alone to solve the mystery he left behind. Why was he driving to Colombo on the day of his death and not out sailing as he claimed to be? Who are the threatening men turning up on her doorstep? When she finally discovers the shocking secret behind her marriage, Louisa's world is turned upside down. Will she find the strength to piece together the truth and learn to live again?
My Review
The year is 1935, Ceylon, which is what it was known as before their independence. It is now known as the island nation of Sri Lanka. There is ceylon tea grown in this lush,tropical area. The rain falls abundantly there and it's perfect for growing cinnamon there. Louisa Reeve and her husband have struggled for years to have a child. Miscarriages and a still birth have left her devastated and have taken a real toll on her marriage. Elliot her husband , has been increasingly absent from home. His wife's sadness has taken a toll on him as well and he spends much time at a nearby plantation ,he's invested in, Cinnamon Hills. On the night a large party is thrown at their house he is very late and a police officer brings the devastating news her husband has been in a fatal car accident. Louisa's life is left in ruins when she discovers he has ruined them financially after borrowing a large sum of money from her and she has no idea where it's gone. When other devastating secrets are revealed she discovers the man she married has been a true strange to her ad not who she thought he was at all. The scent of cinnamon in the humid air along with the lush foliage will draw you into this hauntingly beautiful book as you try to solve who Luisa's husband really is and it will keep you reading. Wonderful,wonderful historical book. I absolutely can not wait to read more by this author. This is a real winner! Pub Date 14 Aug 2018 I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Crown Publishing though NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own.