This is part of my Summer Reads series where I’ll be sharing book recommendations – a series of “not just cookbooks”.
This week’s Summer Reads pick is from Canadian author, Genevieve Graham, an author I discovered a few years ago and whose books On Isabella Street and The Secret Keeper made the 2025 and 2024 Summer Reads lists respectively. I was so happy to include her most recent work this year!
From the publisher:
Welcome to the Dominion, where secrets lurk behind every locked door.
1929: Rosie Ryan wants nothing more than to escape the poverty of The Ward, Toronto’s roughest neighbourhood, and become a chambermaid at the brand-new Dominion Hotel. Until she meets Damien, that is—a charming and ambitious waiter who promises her a better life—and adds him to the top of her list. The Dominion offers her a chance to do well, but behind the gleaming chandeliers and polished marble lurk dangerous secrets involving its most notorious guest, a wealthy gangster who’s about to profit from The Crash that will decimate the economy. When a friend is murdered, Rosie finds herself tangled in a web of betrayal—one that just might cost her everything.
Present Day: City building Inspector Bridget Kelly is assigned to scrutinize the recent renovations at the elegant old Dominion Hotel, a task she relishes as a lover of history and architecture, and that gets even better once she starts working with a brilliant and fascinating archivist. But when a routine inspection uncovers mysterious boxes, locked doors, and secret corridors, bringing to light a long-buried clue to a decades-old murder, her inspection is thwarted, and threats rise round her on every side. Bridget soon realizes someone doesn’t want the truth to surface—and they’ll do anything to keep it buried.
Spanning nearly a century, The Chambermaid’s Key is a gripping dual-timeline novel about ambition, betrayal, and the secrets that bind us across generations.
I am a huge fan of Genevieve Graham’s books and this was no exception. I had high hopes and she delivered – so many things to love:
– Dual timeline (that’s easy to follow!)
– Set in Toronto (in and around the Royal York Hotel)
– Historical fiction based on a lot of fact
– A decades old mystery
– Long lost family connections in the most unexpected places
I flew through this book and was cross when things like you know, life and work prevented me from reading it – it was one of THOSE books – a page turner par excellence! Bravo, Genevieve Graham!
Buy The Chambermaid’s Key on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country).
For free worldwide shipping, find The Chambermaid’s Key on Blackwell’s.
Support your local Indie bookstore and purchase The Chambermaid’s Key on Bookshop.org.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This post also contains affiliate links for Blackwell’s and Bookshop.org. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
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