The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey

This gothic-tinged book from Burdick (The Girls with No Names) focuses on two women in two eras: Evelyn, a newly married Englishwoman at the turn of the 20th century; and Abby, a Californian in 2008 who is still reeling over her mother’s death in the late 1980s. Abby has never known who her father is, so she’s surprised when she finds an old photo of her mother with a man with Abby’s red hair. The picture leads her to discover that her father may have been a descendant of Evelyn, the wife of the famous writer William Aubrey. In Evelyn’s own time, she marries William in wild passion, only slowly discovering that William is jealous of her writing ability, eventually stealing her work to publish under his name. Worst of all, Abby learns that Evelyn died under mysterious circumstances. Abby flies to England and works to untangle the mysteries of Evelyn’s life, hoping that the trail will lead to her unknown father.

CORRECTION: This review originally said that Evelyn’s mother died in the late 1990s, but in fact she died in the late 1980s. LJ regrets the error.