Secrets of the Watch House
Shades of Manderley hover over this story set in the 1930s. Desperately longing for a new life following her father’s disgrace and shameful death, Violet Ellis accepts the offer of a position as secretary to widower James Atherton, although many suspect him of having had a hand in the death of his late wife, Elizabeth.
Violet is taken by James to his home, the Watch House, on the remote Cornish island of Aoife’s Bay. Her presence is resented by his housekeeper, Mrs Hamilton, and questioned by the disparate residents of the island, most of whom nurse their own grievances. Anonymous letters add to the unsettling environment. Violet lacks allies and increasingly feels she is being spied upon.
Despite her mounting unease, her attraction to James grows. Gradually he gains her trust and finally confides in her about his marriage. But this new closeness brings its own dangers. Through a judicious mix of points of view and with flashbacks, Jenny Ashcroft cleverly ratchets up the tension until the final explosive denouement.
