The Debutante

Cate Albion returns home from New York to London to take a job with her aunt's estate-appraising business. An artist who had been supporting herself painting reproductions for various rich clients, Cate also needs to escape a soured romantic relationship. Her first assignment is to accompany her aunt's longtime business partner, Jack Coates, on a trip to assess the contents of the house of the recently deceased Lady Avondale, née Irene Blythe, a well-known philanthropist. During the appraisal, Cate uncovers a well-hidden shoe box holding an assortment of unusual items and begins to search for clues about what really happened to Irene and to her sister, Diana, who disappeared in 1941. Interspersed with the present-day story, Tessaro (The Flirt) includes letters from Diana to Irene, dating from 1926 through her disappearance. Tessaro deftly tackles a number of themes—history and politics between the wars, mental illness, class issues, and homosexuality—while embedding them in a suspenseful, romantic story with compelling characters.