The Debutante - Kathleen Tessaro

Working for her aunt's auction house, artist Cate is sent to Devon to appraise the contents of Endsleigh, the grand Georgian home of a former socialite. Cate quickly becomes immersed in solving the mystery of Baby Blythe, the most famous debutante of her generation. \n \nA brilliant, unforgettable novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector.\n \nCan the secrets of one woman's past change another woman's future?\n \nCate Albion is a gifted young artist at a crossroads in her life. Looking to escape New York for the summer, she takes a job in her aunt's London auction house and is soon sent on assignment to the English countryside to value the contents of Endsleigh House, the once gracious but now crumbling estate of a former Jazz Age socialite. There, hidden in the back of a dusty bookshelf, Cate discovers an old shoebox, and inside, a peculiar assortment of objects, including an exquisite pair of 1930s dancing shoes; a faded photograph of a handsome young sailor, and a rare Tiffany pearl and emerald bracelet.\n \nIntrigued, Cate sets out to learn more about the box and its contents, and becomes immersed in the mystery of its owner, Diana Baby Blythe, the younger of the infamous, glamorous Blythe sisters. Bright, beautiful, and reckless, Baby was the most famous debutante of her generation . . . until she suddenly disappeared entirely from view. \n \nAs a shocking tale of love and betrayal begins to unravel, Cate finds herself being drawn deeper into Baby's tragic life story--one that will force Cate to confront some dark truths about her own choices.\n \n \n