Following the story of Grace Armstrong, a journalist for a small paper, mourning the disappearance of her fiancé at the Battle of Ypres, and led on an investigation following the mysterious disappearance of the lodger residing at the family home. What follows is a journey which will lead Grace to self-discoveries of her own past, the intrigue of a mystery from the past and her realisation of the ghostly presence of loved ones lost to the war. Maybe I sensed something. Maybe I subconsciously saw clues in the text, but right after that, things started to fall apart.

The story began to slow down a bit in the middle, making me lose interest 😭 The romance felt almost forced and the mystery waned! The characters involved in the romance barely have any scenes together so it just doesn’t make sense. The murder mystery completely slowed and there’s zero tension, it feels more like a cozy mystery than a gothic novel (which there’s nothing wrong with that but it’s not something I enjoy; I prefer mysteries with tension).I didn't get the romance at all. The characters didn't spend enough time together and I didn't feel the chemistry. I saw that some readers enjoyed it, so maybe it just me. The finale scene was a bit cliché Grace Armstrong believes that she has come to terms with her own loss, the death of her fiancé, the brilliant and dazzling best friend of her brother. He was declared Missing in Action during the Battle of the Somme, but he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams.

I totally loved this one all through the first half. It sounded so realistic. The historical setting was spot on - if a bit expositional in places. There was Elisabeth's mystery: she appeared to have been a very different person before she went lodging with Grace and her family, and I wanted to know whether she had changed or whether she was a misunderstood woman. There was the WWI tread, where Grace kept seeing her husband around the city, and it could have been her hallucinating, but maybe... The mystery, in the end, wasn't bad. It also made sense. But I felt that, with all the other things going on, it didn't receive the space and emotions it deserved, and therefore, it turned out to be disappointing too. Grace's mother is a perfect example: there was, after all, no mystery there, and in fact, that thread unravelled in a very uninspiring way. The same happened to all the others. The dreams, for example, which I was so desperate to learn what meant, turned out to mean basically nothing. They were just nightmares.

Summary

Added to this, there is the disappearance of the woman who has been lodging with the Armstrong family for the past eight years. Elizabeth Smith was a very private person though had become a good friend to Grace. Then a woman’s body is dragged from the Thames and is identified as Elizabeth. The book just tries to do too much and falls flat in its premise/execution! The one thing it does well is show Grace’s grief following World War 1 and the aftermath effects of how it affected the country as a whole. Honestly the book would have been much better as a historical romance or general historical novel that focuses on characters’ grief and trying to move on following the war. An intriguing mystery layered with deeper themes of loss and regeneration after the Great War. London in 1919 is richly atmospheric, and Grace Armstrong is a sympathetic and spirited protagonist * V. B. Grey, author of SISTERHOOD * Soon Grace finds herself under threat, and the only person prepared to listen is the brooding Tom Monaghan. To make matters worse, a body, dragged from the Thames, is identified as Elizabeth Smith, who lodged with Grace and her family for the last eight years before suddenly disappearing.

The initial part was slow and intriguing. Full of hopes for the future blended with grief and inability to move on, it created a distinct mood. I couldn't put the book down While I enjoyed the characters and found them well-developed and likable, I felt that the romance between Grace and Tom was a weak point in the story. However, as someone not currently invested in romance novels, it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment. London in 1919, a city of ghosts and absences. Grace Armstrong believes that she has come to terms with her own loss, the death of her fiancé, the brilliant and dazzling best friend of her brother. He was declared Missing in Action during the Battle of the Somme, but he starts to reappear both in her waking life and dreams. The Lodger is solid entry into the gothic genre. Using the atmospheric London streets during the aftermath of World War I to its advantage, the story follows Grace who is determined to find out the truth of what happened to her missing lodger, Elizabeth. Grace must find out what happened to Elizabeth, yet the more she discovers, the more she loses of herself and in doing so could lead to her own tragic end when it becomes clear that her former lodger and friend wasn’t particularly innocent.Then, more or less halfway through, I don't know why, I thought, "Are we sure the author will be able to bring this mystery home?" The finale of the investigation. I wanted it to hit harder. But I'm that reader who usually loves mystery more than revelation, so it was expected Edward & Robert's friend, Arthur, comes to visit & brings with him another colleague, Tom, who was injured & had to have several fingers amputated, putting to an end his music career. Tom is bitter about the war & clashes with Grace's father who keeps the quintessential English 'stiff upper lip' about his emotions & believes in the sacrifices made. When the body of a woman is found in the river, the description of what she was wearing is familiar & Grace goes along to the police station with a photograph & gets confirmation that sadly Elizabeth is dead. She cannot believe that the police are going to write it off as a suicide though - the Elizabeth she knew was not in that frame of mind, but as Grace investigates what happened with the surprising help of Tom, she finds that perhaps she didn't know their lodger as well as she thought. What I really liked is the description of post war London, even if it reminded me very much of Downton Abbey. The characters could just have been taken from this grand house to the slightly more family home of Ryedale Villa. And the pacing and escapism reminded me of "All creatures, great and small". However, midway through I found the pacing to become very slow and more and more emphasis was put on romance which is just something I don't like in mysteries.