Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

A very enjoyable, fast paced novel with an intriguing and unusual plot which I very much enjoyed. The characters are realistic and very well drawn, particularly the complex main character - Harriet Baxter. The novel is set in the 1880s and is about a young painter and his family who are befriended by Miss Baxter, a 30 something spinster. The painter's family meet with increasingly serious mishaps until a tragic event calls them to question whether Miss Baxter is what she seems. The novel is narrated by Miss Baxter, who is writing her memoirs from a flat in 1930s London and, certainly towards the end, the opinions of the older Miss Baxter gives the narrative a more sinister slant. A thought provoking novel which is also an enjoyable read.