First published 2018
Florence lies on the floor of her flat at Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly, waiting for someone to find her after her fall. The eighty-four-year-old woman's mind turns to Elsie, her closest friend who always knew the right words to comfort her. But Elsie carries secrets that Florence has never fully understood. Now a new resident has arrived at the care home, and his appearance troubles Florence deeply. The man claims to be someone new, yet he bears an uncanny resemblance to someone who died decades ago. As Florence waits for rescue, she wonders if the past she and Elsie have kept buried is finally surfacing. The arrival of this mysterious figure threatens to expose a terrible secret that has connected the two friends for sixty years. Florence must confront whether their long friendship can survive the truth that may soon emerge.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: secrets, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cherry Tree Home for the Elderly
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
400 pages · Paperback · Scribner