The Secret Life of Violet Grant

Title: The Secret Life of Violet Grant
Author: Beatriz Williams
Published: May 27, 2014 by G. P. Putnam's Sons
Pages: 448
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.

My review:

This is my second novel I've read by this author (this is the first of a trilogy), and I'm just going to admit that if she re-writes the phone book, I'm going to read it! I just adore her writing style. Just enough description to not be over the top, completely readable without being pretentious, and her books just flow so nicely. In this story, we alternate back and forth between Vivian (1964) and her aunt (1914), who disappeared after a somewhat scandalous circumstance. We follow Vivian as she tries to decipher what happened to her aunt. I must admit that while I liked both storylines, I was drawn more to Violet's. Vivian's story dragged a bit at times, although certainly not enough to keep me from fully enjoying this novel. I love the fact that I can learn some history through Ms. Williams' books, and it's nowhere near as painful as history was for me in school (I was NOT a fan) 🙂 I really like that the women are very strong, smart, and capable, and the fact that Violet was a scientist (which I DID love and majored in) was icing on the cake.

A bit of mystery, scandal, romance, strong women.....this book has it all. If you have not read any of Williams' books, you simply must rectify this! Her standalone A Hundred Summers was a 5 star read for me earlier in the year. I cannot wait to read the final two books in this series.