The Brimstone Wedding - Barbara Vine

When Stella comes to stay at the old people's home where Jenny works, she immediately becomes a favourite of Jenny's. Jenny senses in her a kindred spirit, and as time progresses, it soon becomes clear that they do have something in common - they have both had affairs with married men. Jenny's is still on-going, although she is married herself, but Stella's ended many years before, seemingly in tragedy and with someone's death. Then Stella hands Jenny the keys to a secret house, one her family know nothing about, which Jenny uses as a lovers' tryst. Will Jenny pluck up the courage to leave her husband for her lover? And will she find out about Stella's own tragic love ...  Read the complete review

Stella is dying of cancer. Her last days are to be spent at Middleton Hall, a care home for the elderly. Intelligent, articulate and lady-like she adores the butterflies that flitter past her bedroom window, listens to classical music and enjoys regular visits from her doting son and daughter. But Stella is a lady with a story to tell – a shocking tale about love and loss. As her final hours draw closer, she takes it upon herself to confide in one of the care assistants, named Jenny, and through a combination of tea-time conversations and private tape recordings, she gradually shares the secrets of her terrible past. There was something about this book that ...  Read the complete review