The Memory Dress

October 1, 2024
Beginning in England in 2018, Beer's latest (after The Last Dress from Paris, 2022) follows Jayne, who keeps to herself but is always quick to help others. By chance, Jayne meets elderly neighbor Meredith and instantly feels drawn to her. Meredith's home is a disaster, and Jayne soon realizes that the chaos has more to do with Meredith's memory than lack of housekeeping skills. Meredith can't remember when she last saw her daughter, but most disturbingly, she can't remember where her husband is. Meredith shows Jayne her memory room, and Jayne learns that Meredith and her husband used to make gowns for Princess Diana. Jayne can't sit by and do nothing, so she enlists other neighbors to help uncover Meredith's past. While the story has many twists and is told through different perspectives and in different time periods, that won't prevent readers from growing close to the characters and rooting for Meredith to reunite with her estranged daughter. Beers explores themes of love, grief, and hope, and readers who like historical fiction with multiple time lines will be drawn to this one.

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November 1, 2024

Introverted Jayne is doing her best to withdraw from life after a bad breakup with a boyfriend. She lives alone in a flat in the English city of Bath, works as a dog walker, and doesn't interact much with the people around her. Then she meets her neighbor Meredith Chalis, a grandmotherly older woman living in a highly unkempt apartment. Jayne happens to spy among Meredith's belongings a gorgeous couture gown; attached to it is a note declaring the gown a gift to Meredith from Princess Diana. Meredith is waiting for her husband, William, to come home and thinks Jayne is her daughter, Fiona. Yet neither William nor Fiona is anywhere to be found, and it soon becomes clear to Jayne that Meredith has dementia and shouldn't be living alone. Jayne rallies to Meredith's side and musters the support of their fellow neighbors to help find Meredith's lost family, plus solve the mystery of Diana's couture gown and how it relates to Meredith's past. VERDICT Readers who enjoy dual-timeline novels will enjoy Beer's (The Last Dress from Paris) latest, which also includes a sweet, low-key romance for Jayne.--Jennie Mills

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September 9, 2024
Beer’s touching latest (after The Last Dress from Paris) sees a chance meeting between two women change both of their lives. Jayne, a dog walker, leads a quiet life until one of the dogs she cares for gets loose and runs into the apartment of her dementia-stricken neighbor, Meredith Chalis. A retired dressmaker, Meredith is alone and confused, and claims her husband, William, and their daughter, Fiona, are missing. Jayne, determined to help Meredith, gathers neighbors to help clean and organize the apartment and attempts to track down William and Fiona. In hopes of jogging Meredith’s memory as to their whereabouts, Jayne takes her to London to visit locations mentioned alongside sketches of dresses Jayne found in the apartment. Meredith recalls to Jayne how she and William worked for a famous dressmaker and created clothes for Princess Diana, leading Jayne closer to finding out what happened to William and Fiona. Beer’s emotionally rich narrative highlights the devastation of dementia and the solidarity found among those working to lessen its impact. This will move readers. Agent: Sheila Crowley, Curtis Brown.