title: The Story She Left Behind
author: Patti Callahan Henry
publisher: Atria Books
publication date: March 18, 2025
pages: 352
peppers: 2 (on this scale)
warnings: death of a father (off-page), missing mother, talk of death by smog, asthma attack, talk of bullying, theft
summary: When Clara was eight years old, twenty-five years ago, her famous mother disappeared. Now, a British man has contacted Clara to say that he found the mother's papers among his father's possessions. He is supposed to give the papers to Clara, but only in person, so she and her daughter Winnie have to travel to England to get them. Unfortunately, they arrive during the Great Smog of 1952. Since the daughter has asthma, they end up going with the man to his family's country house in Cumbria, where the mystery of how the father came to possess the papers seems to open up new questions as to how these people's lives are related. The story is loosely based on a real author's disappearance.
tropes:
- missing and dead parents
- mysterious findings
- working together
- he saves her
what I liked: multiple points of view and figuring out the mystery, the male protagonist is sweet
what I didn’t like: none of it
overall rating: 5 (of 5 stars)