The Carriage House: A Novel
For 30 years, William Adair’s daughters were the light of his life: breathtakingly beautiful Isabelle, promising actress Elizabeth, and tennis ace Diana, who, in his eyes, seemed to shine brightest of all. In the wake of a stroke, William makes the sobering realization that his girls aren’t the perfect children he’d always thought them to be. Isabelle has a drinking problem, Elizabeth is getting a divorce, and Diana has lost both her tennis swing and the swing in her step. To make matters worse, William’s wife, Margaux, is suffering from dementia. When some unfortunate zoning laws cause William to lose possession of a lovely carriage house built by his grandfather, an inebriated Isabelle sets fire to the place. The act lights a spark in aspiring architect Diana, who goes on a mission to rebuild it. Meanwhile, as Margaux begins to fade, William’s longtime friend Adelia reenters his life, prompting his daughters to wonder about her motivations. In this engaging debut, Hall renders an intriguing cast of characters striving to find hope in the midst of despair. --Allison Block