All seems picture perfect in the suburban home of Lora and Bill, brother and sister who have carved out a nice placid life in 1950’s California. But in this atmospheric novel all lives will be turned upside down when Bill falls for Alice, a seamstress at a Hollywood studio.
When Bill marries Alice, she and Lora form an almost sibling-like relationship, even call each other sisters. All seems well for a while as Alice throws herself into becoming the perfect housewife and throws lavish parties but when Lora helps her secure a job as a teacher at the school where she also teaches, she starts to see another side of Alice.
After all, where did Alice come from and is she really who she says she is? Soon Lora is getting caught up in the same lifestyle Alice was trying to leave behind. Lora is trying to keep her brother from harm’s way but what about her?
Megan Abbott’s debut novel is a highly entertaining and fast-read. I don’t read noir novels too often but if they are all like this then I really should be reading more. Abbott captures another time and lifestyle perfectly and I’m intrigued by what she’ll come up with next.