"The Barbers had said they would arrive by three. It was like waiting to begin a journey."
The Paying Guests is about a love triangle between a lodger (coyly called a paying guest by the embarrassed upper-middle class family). As you would expect from Sarah Waters, the extra-marital relationship is between two women. “The love that dare not speak its name”, and in 1920’s England the necessity for discretion is paramount.
What is most powerful and fascinating about this book is that we cannot be certain of Lilian’s motives or her heart. Together with Frances we find ourselves doubting her love and craving some definitive answer. Is she deeply in love or a master manipulator? Beyond the love story, the murder, the trial, that is the question that troubles the reader the most. We know Frances makes a terrible mistake, but is it worth it? This is the real mystery which is satisfactorily resolved in the final pages.
It’s a beautiful book that reveals a fascinating period of history and looks across class boundaries at how people were changed by the first world war. Highly recommended to people who enjoy crime novels and lesbian love stories. 5/5
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