Zoey grew up with a much older father and a volatile mother. Right after they divorced, her mother died and, when Zoey's father remarried, there was no room left for her. But it's okay, because she's going to Mallow Island, to the studio apartment her mother left to her. It's part of a small apartment complex that was bought and refurbished by an author, Roscoe Avanger, who is best known for his book about the Island. He only had one big hit but it was big enough that he could buy several properties and set himself up for the rest of his life.
The first night Zoey is there, one of the other tenants, Lizbeth Lime, dies, buried under hundreds of copies of Roscoe's books. Her death, and Zoey being asked by the property manager to go through the hoarding of printed pages that Lizbeth left behind, sets off a series of events where the other tenants, Charlotte, Mac, and Lucy, will start to intertwine. Before, Lizbeth kept them separated by spying on them all and making everyone stay indoors.
Lots of magical realism in this book up to and including Zoey's invisible bird but woven into the story. The near ending was a little too much but this book is just another reason to really enjoy anything Addison Allen writes.
Four stars
This book came out August 30, 2022
Borrowed as ebook from Libby
Opinions are my own
