"And dear they are, but not so dear"

Frances Thorpe works for the books pages of a London newspaper. The weekends see her visiting her parents, babysitting for her nephews, or lamenting her unpainted bookshelves over a takeaway curry.  Her life changes one Sunday evening, driving back to London, when she comes across an overturned Audi by the side of the road. While waiting for the ambulance, she sits next to the vehicle and talks with the driver, Alys, who is trapped inside. Frances notices at once how well the “expensive, cultured voice” goes with the car. 

Since she was with Alys in her last moments, Frances is offered (but declines) an opportunity to meet with the family to provide closure. It is not until she discovers that Alys was the wife of an acclaimed author, Laurence Kyte, that she decides a meeting may actually be beneficial. 

Aptly called “manipulative, resourceful, [and] chippy,” Frances seizes the opportunity to enter into Alys’ world of “ease and comfort and significance.”  First, she befriends Alys’ daughter and gets herself invited to the weekend home. Next, she gets herself into Laurence's good graces, and, as one might have guessed, his bed.

The appeal of Alys, Always by Harriet Lane is in both its description of an opulent life and the unhappiness that lies therein. Frances’ narration keeps one on guard as well, giving the whole thing a delightful air of suspense and suspicion.