The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams

It all begins when a suitcase is unexpectedly delivered to Vivian, a young woman living in New York.  It's actually addressed to Violet, but she knows no Violet.  Neither does her mother.  When she goes to the post office to pick up, she flirts with the good looking guy in the post office line ahead of her.  He asks if she needs help getting her package home and she says yes.  This is a double plus because he's going to carry her package and she gets to know more about him.

Penguin Books sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

This is an interesting tale about a woman who left New York with her new husband and never returned.  There was a rumor she killed her husband and ran off with her lover.  The family never talks about her.  But she's Vivian's aunt and she wants to know more about her story.  After all, Vivian is a journalist and this would make a great human interest story.  She doesn't expect it to evolve into a family history lesson or to find that her life is lot like her aunt's life was.

It's a pretty detailed book about the life and times of both women.  Violet took what she wanted from life and bartered to get into scientific research.  Vivian has fallen in love but her best friend thinks he's the "one" and is expecting to marry him.  Both women had their failings in love, but Ms. Williams redeems them before the end.

Vivian finds Violet.  Old secrets are exposed and new secrets are kept.  Both these women are strong in their own way.  I enjoyed reading about them and ended the book with a smile on my face. I liked the mix of past and present.  It made it much more authentic to me.