“Lady Jayne Disappears” by Joanna Davidson Politano is a delicious modern day Gothic tale set in 1861 England, featuring love, hate, mystery and survival.
Aurelie Harcourt has grown up in debtor’s prison. With the recent passing of her father, she travels to his family’s home, Lynhurst Manor, and to a lifestyle and group of people she has no familiarity with. Trying to keep her past secret from her newly acquainted relatives, Aurelie also has another secret — she has taken up writing under the nom de plume, Nathaniel Droll, of her father and his “Lady Jayne” series, which has an eerie resemblance to life at Lynhurst.
As Aurelie builds relationships at Lynhurst, particularly with seamstress Nelle and the handsome and enigmatic Silas Rotherham who is visiting the manor for the summer, she must reveal the secrets about her past that her father started to reveal to her through his story. Just who was Aurelie’s mother, and what truly happened to her? Would Aurelie be able to complete Lady Jayne’s fictionalized story? And as she revealed her life’s secrets, what other secrets would be revealed?
Davidson Politano does a great job of developing a fun and exciting plot, building great characters — some you love, and some you love to hate. Besides being an incredible romance and mystery, “Lady Jayne Disappears” offers many amazing lessons — staying true to ourselves and who we are; sometimes all we have is the Lord to get us through life; so many more times good outweighs the bad; the importance and power of imagination; happiness is always a choice; God has a purpose for us; the ability to show strength and kindness; and the difference between seeking and receiving adoration and scorn, and the consequences of each.
Often quoting Psalm 23, Aurelie’s story constantly reiterates the theme of rescue — rescuing one another as humans and, more importantly, the fact that God is our ultimate rescuer.
I believe this is the first novel written by Davidson Politano. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am looking forward to her next book, due in Summer 2018.
Five stars out of five.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.