Review:
It's 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere wishes she hadn't been assigned to take care of Lenora Hope. The woman is infamous. Although it was never proven that she killed her whole family back in 1929, nearly everyone is convinced she did it, to the point that there's even a schoolyard chant about that night. But it's not like Kit has much of a choice, considering how things went with her last assignment.
Lenora isn't at all what Kit expects. A series of strokes has left her mute and unable to move anything but her left hand. She never leaves her room, and her only form of entertainment seems to be the tapes that Jessie, one of the household staff members, records of herself reading various novels. Hope House, too, isn't what Kit expects. It's enormous and was likely grand in its prime, but now it's a crumbling mess.
Gradually, Kit adjusts to her work and figures out how to communicate with Lenora. There's a typewriter in Lenora's room that she's able to use, with help, and, little by little, Lenora starts telling her the story of what happened the night her family was killed. Kit has no idea whether it will be a confession or a revelation about the true murderer. It chills her, as does the evidence that something strange is going on at Hope House.
This wasn't the weakest of Sager's books that I've read, but I also didn't think it was anywhere near as strong as Lock Every Door or Home Before Dark. I got impatient with the way Lenora was taking her sweet time to clarify what happened that night her family died, and when certain details were revealed I was honestly annoyed at her narrative. Granted, Kit might not have believed her if she'd revealed everything too soon, but she didn't have to muddy things up as much as she did.
This also ended up having one more twist than I was willing to accept. That last bit really strained my suspension of disbelief.
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