Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Description from Goodreads: “Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha’s Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their ‘real lives’: Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war.

Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena’s husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena–with their children, Daisy and Ed–try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.”

Tigers in Red Weather is a sultry, stunning debut, the writing richly evocative, I could not put it down (I finished it in one day). Told from five different perspective spanning 20 years, Liza Klaussmann’s debut novel paints the picture of a family with deeply hidden secrets – and what happens when things don’t turn out quite how you envisioned. Tigers in Red Weather is a riveting, deeply moving tale of the unraveling of one family’s mysteries. Bottom line, I’d rate it 4/5 stars and a very memorable debut, I will certainly look for the author’s next novel.

A few interesting facts, Liza Klaussmann is the great-great-great granddaughter of Herman Melville. This novel initially caused quite a stir with an eight way publishers bidding war, and I can now say rightfully so – I enjoyed it that much (but I grew up in the area too, so there might be a bit of nostalgia involved as well). To see a few more idyllic pictures of the setting, check out this article.

Photos: 1, goodreads.com, 2, 3 and 4 are by Annie Collinge for Nowness