Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When Eve falls for Dom in Switzerland, their whirlwind romance leads them to purchase an abandoned house in a rural hamlet in the south of France. But Eve finds it impossible to ignore the mysteries that haunt both her lover and the run-down old house.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Eve and her boyfriend, Dom, have moved into a country house in Provence that they are renovating. Life is idyllic, except that Dom refuses to speak about his ex-wife, Rachel. As a result, Eve becomes completely obsessed with Rachel. At some point in the past, Benedicte lived in that same run-down house, where she grew up with her blind sister, Marthe, and her wicked brother, Pierre. Benedicte reflects upon her life and wonders why Marthe stopped speaking to her. In fact, Marthe seems to have disappeared altogether while in the middle of a brilliant career as a perfume designer. What could have happened and how does it affect Eve in the present day? VERDICT British writer Lawrenson, making her U.S. debut, alternates viewpoints between the past and the present at a dizzying speed. Her sumptuous descriptions of the charming French countryside and the intricacies of perfume making do not compensate for a lackluster plot and minimal character development. Readers wanting a truly gothic tale of suspense and romance are better off rereading Daphne du Maurier or Mary Stewart. [See Prepub Alert, 3/14/11.]-Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Dom, an erudite English musician, and an aspiring translator he calls "Eve" meet in a maze, fall in love, and decamp to Les Genevriers (the Junipers), a hamlet in Provence, at the start of Lawrenson's extravagant new novel. Eve is immediately intrigued by the misnamed French house, constructed in 1887; "there is only one low-spreading juniper, hardly noble enough to warrant such recognition." Les Genevriers is rich with antiques and hidden rooms, and also seems to be haunted. Eve is distressed when Dom refuses to talk about his ex-wife, who has gone missing, and becomes increasingly determined to investigate the disappearance. As summer slides into fall, a new narrative gracefully emerges with the discovery of audio recordings made by Benedicte Lincel, a resident of Les Genevriers in the early 20th century. The recordings reveal a woman haunted by past tragedies and further deepen the mystery of the house. Lawrenson expertly manages suspense and intrigue throughout and breathes great, detailed life into her lush French countryside setting, making one wonder why this, her sixth novel, is the first to be published in the U.S. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Eve and Dom meet and instantly fall deeply in love. So when Dom decides to move to Provence to a ramshackle farmhouse, Les Genevriers, Eve can do nothing but follow. Once there, mysterious scents waft through the house, a party guest raises disturbing questions about Dom's former wife, Rachel, and Dom vehemently refuses to talk about her. Add to that the isolation of the house and mysterious bones found under an old concrete pool, and you have all the makings of a modern gothic novel with plenty of shadows, figures in the night, and a ghostly lantern that appears on the path to the house. The story unfolds in Eve's modern voice and the diary of Benedicte, former owner of Les Genevriers. The two stories move slowly together, revealing just enough to keep the reader on edge. Lawrenson builds characters and suspense with a deft hand, creating an atmospheric and moody story, with the beauty of Provence and its culture, past and present, as backdrop.--Dickie, Elizabet. Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

In her homage to Daphne du Maurier, British journalist Lawrenson movesRebecca's characters and plot from early-20th-century England to present-day Provence while retaining the basic story of a naive young woman adoringly in love with an older man who won't discuss his former wife.LikeRebecca's unnamed narrator, the shy young translator nicknamed Eve begins her narration by acknowledging it has been her choice "to stay with a man who has done a terrible thing" before recounting her story. After a brief whirlwind romance, Eve's lover Dom, who has made a fortune selling his business and now devotes himself to music, has whisked Eve away to Provence. Instead of Manderly, Eve finds herself at Les Genvriers, a crumbling hamlet they plan to renovate. Eve knows Dom has been married before, but he refuses to talk about the marriage although he reluctantly acknowledges that his wife Rachel died. At first Eve is content not to know more, until she realizes Dom lived in Provence before with Rachel. Sabine, a local woman who was Rachel's friend, describes Rachel as a beautiful, charming and talented journalist. Sabine (think a chic Mrs. Danvers) warns Eve that Rachel once stated that Dom might kill her. As Dom continues to stonewall concerning his past with Rachel, Eve's suspicions grow. She Googles Rachel and reads her articles. Encouraged by Sabine, she also begins researching an unsolved mystery Rachel was looking into: the disappearance of Marthe Lincel, who went blind while growing up at Les Genvriers, became a famously successful perfumer in Paris, then suddenly vanished. (Lawrenson adds a second, mostly skippable layer of narration from Marthe's sister Bndicte, whose spirit actually does haunt Les Genvriers.) The mystery surrounding Rachel's death offers a contemporary twist that modifies the gothic romance spirit of moral ambivalence.Lawrenson is marvelous at bringing across the sensory, sensual richness of Provence, but she never captures the delicious psychological creepiness of the original; instead, Eve comes across merely as a girl with too much time on her hands.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.