Recruited by architect Theo Camden to manage the newly constructed Dakota apartments, Sara Smythe arrives in New York City from London in 1884. As she works to please the Dakota's rich clientele, Sara becomes entangled with the Camdens professionally and personally. After she becomes pregnant, a mental breakdown lands her in notorious Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum. A century later, Bailey Camden, an interior designer, finds the only job open after leaving rehab is overseeing the renovation of her Cousin Melissa's Dakota apartment. Melissa and her twin brother are "true" descendants of Theo, while Bailey's ancestor was a Camden family ward. As Bailey struggles to save vestiges of the Dakota's past, she discovers documents and artifacts that call into question accepted narratives of family history, including Sara's murder of Theo. While the Sara-Theo and Bailey-Melissa relationships are well developed in these parallel stories, some minor characters and subplots receive cursory treatment. However, descriptions of life in the asylum and living conditions of the poor are wrenching. The final chapters from both eras include swirls of revelations with a surprising villain and unexpected family connections. Verdict Readers who enjoyed Davis's debut novel, The Dollhouse, about another New York City residential landmark will relish this one.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Historical fiction meets real estate porn in this tale revolving around Manhattan's storied Dakota apartment building.Davis (The Dollhouse, 2016) tells two, eventually intertwining, stories that take place 100 years apart. In 1884, Sara Smythe is head housekeeper at London's Langham Hotel when she accepts an offer to work at the Dakota, just opening in the wilds of Manhattan's Upper West Side. The very notion of upper-class families living in shared space had been considered gauche, but the Dakotaa "communal living experiment," as one of the characters puts itbecomes a showpiece for affluent families who can't afford a Fifth Avenue mansion. In 1985, New York City interior designer Bailey Camden has just been sprung from rehab only to learn that her former employer doesn't want her back. She gets a commission from her friend Melinda (a sort of relationbut that's a long story), who owns an apartment in the Dakota. Unfortunately, Melinda's renovation ideas are painfully out of step with the Gilded Age grandeur of the building. Back in the 1880s, Sara gets involved with married architect Theodore Camden and winds up in an insane asylum on Blackwell (now Roosevelt) Island. The real-life pioneering reporter Nellie Bly engineers her release, and Sara returns to the Dakota only to be accused of a grisly crime. Bailey, meanwhile, stumbles across some strange artifacts at the Dakota that will link her, inextricably, to Sara. Though her characters lack depth, the author does a good job showing how tough it could be for women in the 19th century. At the same time, the historical asides about old New York and the Dakota's beginnings are fun to read. The writing is only serviceable, but this jam-packed narrative unfolds at a brisk clipeven if, in the end, the convoluted plot turns have a dizzying effect. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Davis (The Dollhouse) has folded together two historical eras in this breezy historical novel that jumps between Gilded Age and Reagan-era New York City. In 1884, Sara Smythe sets off from London to New York, wooed there with the promise of a job at the Dakota, an apartment building for the rich. In 1985, Bailey Camden, fresh out of drug rehab, accepts a job from her party-girl cousin to remodel the shabby apartment that she inherited in the old Dakota building. As Bailey researches the building, she discovers Sara's tragic history: her romance with the architect who designed the Dakota, Theo Camden, and her eventual conviction for his murder. Davis overlays the two histories beautifully, tying them together through transitions focused on the picturesque building. But the two women are connected by more than just the Dakota, and all sorts of secrets slowly come to light as Bailey proceeds with the renovation. The book, rife with historical description and architectural detail, will appeal to design and history buffs alike. But while the setting is captivating, the facts of Sara's and Bailey's lives tend toward the melodramatic. Readers interested in Gilded Age New York will appreciate this light historical drama, but predictable moments and a convenient resolution will leave others wanting. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Associates. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sara Smythe isn't entirely happy with her job as head housekeeper at London's prestigious Langham Hotel, so she jumps at the chance when American architect Theodore Camden offers her a job as lady managerette at the new Dakota Apartment House in New York. It isn't long before her relationship with Theo becomes other than professional, leading to numerous complications. One hundred years later, Bailey Camden, fresh out of rehab, takes charge of renovating her cousin Melinda's Dakota apartment. They aren't really cousins; Melinda is Theo Camden's great-granddaughter, and Bailey's grandfather was Theo's ward. The discovery of some old trunks in the Dakota basement sets Bailey on a quest to find out how Sara ended up in prison for Theo's murder and whether Bailey herself might be entitled to a share of the Camden trust. Though the novel is overloaded with melodramatic plot elements (one example: Sara gets sent to a lunatic asylum and is saved by the intervention of investigative journalist Nellie Bly), Davis (The Dollhouse, 2016) keeps things humming along, and it's fun to see how she reimagines the iconic Dakota's history.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2017 Booklist