An enjoyable uncovering of secrets as a housemaid, Grace, employed at Riverton from the time of the first world war looks back at life at the house from her old age. I liked it despite finding it all a bit predictable in places. The characters aren’t really the strong point here, some seem very cardboardy, marched onto the scene to display some aspect of early twentieth century history. I’d have liked to have cared more about the family and the servants. The slow realisation of what is happening is well written though. The device of having Grace looking back in time and being astonished by her own lack of knowledge about what is going on around her works well. And subtle hints of what happens after the main story are littered through the book to make the reading continually interesting, and the big reveal at the end of the book might be disappointing if the reader hadn’t basically guessed it all long before.

Thinking about the book too much would probably ruin it, so I won’t do, but it’s an entertaining read.