The Address by Fiona Davis

Quick synopsis: This book switches back and forth between 1885 and 1985 and involves a woman named Sara who helps run a prestigious hotel in England. She is approached by Theodore Camden after an incident who offers her a job in the now famous Dakota Apartment building in New York City, which, in the story, hasn't been completed yet. Theodore is one of the architects working on the building.  Sara travels to the United States to be the manager of the property which promises to be THE address that everyone will want to live in. 

The more modern portion of the story involves, Melinda a descendant of Theodore Camden and her "cousin" Bailey. They call each other "cousins" because Bailey's grandfather was a "ward" of Theodore Camden's, essentially an orphan that he and his wife, Minnie took in along with their own children. Bailey is struggling with being an alcoholic and takes a job helping Melinda, who is back at the Dakota renovating her own apartment. Bailey is appalled at the renovations Melinda is doing to a historical building, but down on her luck, Bailey assists. 

While in the building, Bailey finds old artifacts, showing her some of Theodore Camden's past. She sets out to find out the link between her life and the one shown in the 1885 portions of the story. I won't go into any spoilers here, so on to my two cents!

Wow! I loved this story. I admit, I didn't think I would like it as much a I did when I started the book, but for me, it took off and that was it! I found myself wanting to get back to it as soon as I could and reading late into the night. Plus! It had my favorite city in it and also my second favorite thing about a book is when I think something is fiction and it turns out not to be, making me look further.  I know about the Dakota building. For those who may not, it's where John Lennon lived and was ultimately killed. However, there is something in this book (I won't get into it) that turned out to be a real place (noted at the end). I highly recommend this story. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Family drama, mystery, history, my favorite city...how could I not? Thank you so much to Penguin's First to Read Program for the ARC.