This story follows Ginnie Holmes, a child-psychologist based in London, who works primarily with children who have been traumatized by life experiences. Ginnie is married with two teenage daughters and on the outside it seems her life is perfect. However, her husband is an obsessive academic and Ginnie cannot remember the last time they made love. When her eldest daughter moves out of the house and goes off to college and her husband moves into her room, Ginnie suddenly realizes her relationship with her husband is worst than she thought.
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She continues to be the one parent present on school nights at their youngest daughter's school and on the single event her husband finds time in his schedule to attend, he has nothing positive to say about his daughter's artwork. This further cements her distaste for the man. When Ginnie's work leads her to Detective Will Hampden, the two fall fast, engaging in a passionate affair. Soon they find a deserted house by the riverbank that becomes their meeting place and one rainy afternoon, Ginnie sees a man that looks out of place. Later when she sees him again on the evening news speaking about a wife who he claims is missing, Ginnie gets a feeling there is foul play. Eventually the woman's body is found and Ginnie must decide if she will come forward and risk exposing her secret affair with Will or keep quiet to protect her own world.
Best part of story, including ending:
I loved the descriptions in this book. LeRoy's writing is elegant and subtle. You can almost hear the narrator whispering as you read the sentences. They are so dainty and quiet. I loved the descriptions and the dark tone of this novel. It was perfect for the characters and plot.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene is when Ginnie confronts her daughter about being responsible and coming home at a reasonable time. In this scene, Ginnie realizes that her daughters are growing up and her husband has no interest in her anymore. It dawns on her that she too needs to find a life of her own.
Opinion about the main character:
I loved Ginnie because she was an excellent mother and caring wife. She put her family first for years. In the end when she realized no one needed her anymore, she wasn't afraid to try something new no matter what it cost her.
