62 year old Chilean Lucia Maraz lives in the downstairs apartment of her boss Richard Bowmaster’s brownstone in Brooklyn. She took a job in the States to be closer to her daughter Daniela. She quite fancies Richard, who is 2 years younger than she is, but thus far he’s shown no interest in her.
Then, one night, during a snow storm, Richard knocks on Lucia’s door asking her to come to his apartment upstairs. Lucia tells him she’ll be there in the morning, but he insists it has to be now. When Lucia comes upstairs she finds a girl who only speaks in Spanish who is in clear distress.
Richard tells Lucia that he bumped into the girl, Evelyn Ortega’s car earlier in the day and now she has turned up on his doorstep stammering in Spanish. Lucia discovers that Evelyn works as a nanny and she’s terrified of the man who employs her. She didn’t want him to know she had taken the car and had been rear ended by Richard. When she checked the car, she discovered there was a dead body in the trunk and now she’s really terrified to go back home.
Lucia and Richard agree to help Evelyn and they decide to take the car, with the body, to Richard’s friend’s hunting cabin by a lake, and then drive the car into the lake.
The three discover that the dead body is that of Kathryn Brown, the physical therapist of Evelyn’s charge: Frankie Leroy. And she was the lover of Frank Leroy Sr.
Isabel Allende also tells the back stories of each main character:
- Lucía details the terror of the 1970s Chilean dictatorship and her missing family.
- Richard shares his grief over past losses and trauma in Brazil.
- Evelyn recounts her harrowing migration and survival of a vicious attack in Guatemala in which her brother was killed.
This was a beautiful book. I really enjoyed it. Lucia is awesome and kick-ass. Richard is a bit of a doofus, but hey, Lucia likes him. I was glad when they finally got together.
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2026
Prompt 49: A book with a mention of your zodiac sign
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
