[WPF] The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis - 3 stars

[Theresa]

The plot revolves around 2 time periods: depression era N.Y.C. when Grand Central Terminal was home to The Twentieth Century Limited and the Grand Central Art School, and the mid-1970s when N.Y.C. was bankrupt, Grand Central deteriorated and facing the wrecking ball while preservationists fought to save it. The connecting, even overlapping, plot involves Clara, an illustrator and artist once affiliated with the art school who disappeared during the depression, and In the 70's Virginia, a newly divorced woman trying to find her way from 50s housewife to 70s single working woman.

The real story told here is Grand Central Terminal's saving and restoration, a story that I experienced from the time I came to N.Y.C. as a college student. The rest is just window dressing. The plot involving Clara and Virginia is not particularly complex or original, although the author pull off a twist I never saw coming. It is a lightly told story with a hint of mystery, one I thoroughly enjoyed.