‘I love Elinor Lipman’s wit and lightness of touch’ Marian Keyes   ‘Elinor Lipman’s new novel is all comfort and joy – a masterclass in writing about small-town life’ Washington Post  

Running the family estate-sale business in a small Massachusetts town is not the high-flying career that Emma Lewis imagined for herself. But her parents make an offer she can’t refuse when they move to the coast and invite her to take over their home as well as the firm.

Their only condition is that she take a lodger: her former maths teacher Frank, whose unfaithful wife was recently struck dead by lightning. Reluctant at first, Emma discovers in Frank the ideal housemate: considerate, a romantic ally as they each start dating different generations of the same family, and even helpful with the business.

But they realise they may be out of their depth when Emma wins the contract to empty a noted local mansion, only to discover it operated for years as a high-end bordello. Will her sale of the contents reveal the secrets of half the town?

This charming tale of love and licentiousness behind a respectable façade is another pitch-perfect comedy from the author of Ms. Demeanor.