Mrs. P’s Book of Secrets by Lorna Gray

Mrs. P’s Book of Secrets is a story which has a little bit of everything…mystery, romance, history and ghosts…which all add up to an intriguing adventure.

Mrs. Lucy Peuse, or Mrs. P. is a war widow in 1946 who has begun to work in her uncle’s publishing business.  She is hired to make coffee and answer phones, but soon is put to work to edit a book.

Robert Underhill is a former doctor, and prisoner of war who was hired by the company.  What exactly he was hired to do is the first mystery.  Lucy is wary of him, at first…

But when Lucy is given the opportunity to assist with edits of a book about a family named Ashbrook, which in the galley seems to be always misspelled, she soon discovers an Ashbrok family mystery.  See what I did there?

Lucy and Robert try to find out what happened the Ashbroke family member thought to have died as a young child, but with no grave or obituary they are at a loss. No one seems to even remember the child, which is strange for such a well-known family.

As the two grow closer, Lucy must wrestle with her own ghosts.  Due to the loss of her husband she is afraid to love again first because she does not want to betray him but also because she fears her new love will be taken away.

This tale is a love story in so many ways…the love between family members, people we have lost, or people we feel we have disappointed, or the love between family who are not blood, but are still bonded as family, and what they will do for each other no matter what.

As a long ago mystery is put to rest, so are Lucy and Richard’s questions as to who and how we love and that sometimes ghosts can give the permission we need to love again.

Thank you #NetGalley #HarperCollins #LornaGray #Mrs.P’sBookofSecrets for the advanced copy.  The book will be available in the United States on January 23, 2020.