First published 2012
Sibyl Allston lives with quiet desperation in her Boston Back Bay townhouse. Her mother and sister died aboard the Titanic, leaving her with a silent father and a brother whose scandals threaten the family name. She finds comfort in the parlor of a medium who turns tables and reads crystal balls. When Harvard expels her brother under mysterious circumstances, he falls under the influence of a strange young woman. Sibyl turns to psychology professor Benton Derby for help, despite the unresolved tensions from their past. As they work together to uncover the truth behind her brother's troubles, their old attraction reignites. Their investigation takes them from opium dens in Boston's Chinatown to the elegant salons where high society gathers. The mystery deepens as past and present collide, forcing Sibyl to confront not only the circumstances surrounding her brother's downfall but also her own desires for love and independence in a world that offers women few choices.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, forbidden-romance, mystery, second-chance-romance, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Boston, Boston's Chinatown
Period: World War I
418 pages · Hardcover · Voice/Hyperion
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness