Meet Me in Bombay

Ashcroft (Island in the East) spins an irresistible romantic tour de force set in early-20th-century India. Maddy Bright grew up in England but has since joined her parents in India, where she falls hard for dashing British military officer Luke Devereaux. After Luke gives her a Bombay travel guidebook that leads her on adventures, their connection deepens, leading quickly to marriage and pregnancy, then uncertainty when Luke is sent to fight in WWI. All of Ashcroft’s characters leap off the page, especially Maddy’s best friend and her supportive father, who share Maddy’s intense anguish when she receives news from the front that Luke has been seriously injured, and after she doesn’t hear from him, she believes he’s died. The author employs evocative prose and taut plotting, and the final twist will come as a surprise to those who think they have the story figured out. Ashcroft keeps readers turning the pages. (Jan.)