The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

 

Rose Lewin is a journalist, her joy researching and writing long articles.  She was pushed out of a network job and has landed at a startup online magazine.  Rose is living in the Barbizon Hotel, a New York landmark where seventy years ago models and secretaries lived while working and looking for Mr. Right. Rose's latest project is telling the story of those women, some of whom are still living at the Barbizon in rent-controlled apartments while the rest of the building has gone to high priced condos.

There was a scandal with these women back in 1952.  Something happened on the rooftop and at the end of the incident, one woman had fallen to her death while the other, Darby, has lived in seclusion ever since, her face veiled whenever she has to go out.  Rose wants to tell Darby's story but Darby isn't interested in talking.  When Darby leaves on a trip, Rose and a photographer at the startup start to research the story.  They learn that the woman who fell was a Puerto Rican maid at the Barbizon named Esme.  But as they research they learn that the two women were friends and that Esme was also a singer and perhaps mixed up with gangsters.  What's the real story of that night?

Fiona Davis is an American author who specializes in historical fiction.  This novel was her debut and it transports the reader back to the 1950's New York City.  Readers will learn about expectations of women, cooking with spices, gangs running heroin and jazz clubs.  Darby had a love story to be discovered and Rose also has one that adds interest.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.