by Beatriz Williams

This newest dual timeline historical fiction novel from Beatriz Williams kept me reading from the beginning. In 2022, single mother Mallory Dunne gets the phone call that every parent dreads. Her ten-year-old son, Sam, ate a poisonous mushroom while he was at camp and he is in the hospital fighting for his life. She is barely making ends meet and Sam requires a kidney transplant. Neither Mallory or her sister are suitable candidates and Sam’s father isn’t in the picture. As her sister and friends rally around her, she and her sister discover an unexpected secret about their deceased mother.

In 2008, Mallory is working as a nanny for her boyfriend’s wealthy family on Winthrop Island. Monk is a talented musician but his father expects him to go into the family business. Monk just wants to be a songwriter and musician. After spending an idyllic summer on the island, Mallory and Monk are torn apart by a brutal betrayal.

In 1951 Cairo, Hannah Ainsworht, an ex-Hungarian countess, is living with her much older British diplomat husband and trying to rebuild her life after the horrors of the war. Her marriage is troubled and soon Hannah becomes involved with another man. This leads to a devastating secret. As the sister’s search to understand their mother’s secret, they are lead to an orphanage in Ireland where they discover the significance of the exotic family heirloom bracelet that Mallory wears.

As the past collides with the present, secrets will be revealed. The author returns to Winthrop Island in this book where some of her other novels are set. I really enjoyed the two settings and the story in Husbands and Lovers. If you enjoy dual timelines stories, young love, family secrets, WWII espionage, betrayal and exotic settings, you will like this book.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.