London from My Windows

Mary Carter

Jul 2015 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

Ava Wilder’s home in small-town Iowa is her sanctuary. A talented sketch artist with severe agoraphobia, Ava spends her days drawing a far more adventurous life than her invisible disability allows. Until she receives a package from London, explaining that she has inherited her Aunt Beverly’s entire estate—on condition that she lives in Bev’s West End flat for a year.

Once overseas, Ava wonders if she’s simply swapped one prison for another. The streets and shops are intimidating, and Bev’s home appears to be a drop-in center for local eccentrics. Worst of all, Bev left a list of impossible provisos to be overseen by her quirky, attractive solicitor. Ava is expected to go out—to experience clubs, pubs, and culture; to visit Big Ben, Hyde Park, and the London Eye. After years of viewing the world through a pane of glass, she’s at the messy, complicated center of it. As exhilarated as she is terrified, will she be able to step up, step out, and claim the life she was meant for?

In an insightful, poignant novel, Mary Carter delves deep into self-discovery and the meaning of courage, exploring the fears that serve to protect us—until life calls us to connect at last.

Ratings and reviews

London from My Windows by Mary Carter was an unusual novel. It begins with Ava Wilder dancing with her father. They go out dancing along the sidewalk when her father drops dead from a heart attack. Her mother, Gretchen, clutches her husband and tells her daughter that she killed him (she was upset and grief stricken). Ava feels that she has murdered her father and is very angry. At first Ava believes that if she is very good, her father will return. Then she starts acting out until the day she will no longer leave her bedroom. The one person she wants to see is her Aunt Beverly (her father’s sister). The one person who Gretchen (the mother) will not contact or talk to is Beverly (the reasons come out later in the book). Nineteen years later Ava lives in her own home, but she rarely leaves it. She has severe agoraphobia. Ava has black sheets over every window in the house. She does sketches for the local police department (for an income), but they usually come to her. The day she has to go to the police department, she has to be blind folded, medicated, a black trash bag over her head (which she carried around like a blankie), and bodily hauled out. Then she hears from Jasper Keyes. Jasper is her Aunt Beverly’s barrister (lawyer). Beverly Wilder was an actress who recently passed away from cancer. She left her West End flat in London to Ava. But in order to inherit, she has to live in the flat for one year and visit a list of sites around London (within 90 days). Ava decides to go to London (after talking with her psychiatrist) because she has to get away from her mother. Ava is heavily medicated for the flight and has to be wheeled through the airport (in a wheelchair after she is found hiding in a custodian’s closet). No one believes that Ava will be able to complete the list. If Ava does not meet all the conditions of the will, the flat will go to Beverly’s best friend, Queenie (a fun loving drag queen). Queenie’s niece, Hillary, though, does what she can to hinder Ava’s progress (she wants Queenie to inherit and then sell the flat to pay off his debt to her). With help from Jasper, Queenie, and Queenie’s fun friends, Ava starts to enjoy life again. Will Ava be able to leave the flat and visit all the sites on the list before the deadline? Can she get over her agoraphobia? London from My Windows contains a lot of internal dialogue from Ava. It goes on and on for pages. The one thing I did like about the novel was how it highlighted that all disabilities are not physical or can be seen. The way it was handled, though, was like a bad comedy routine. I kept at this book until I finished it, but I did not really like it. The writing was okay, but the novel was not pleasant to read. I really got sick of Ava’s internal monologues and constant panic attacks (she even got them when people came over to the house or flat). I give London from My Windows 2 out of 5 stars. It was just not my cup of tea. This novel contains an extreme amount of foul language (even from a child). I received a complimentary copy of London from My Windows in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

About the author

Mary Carter is a freelance writer and novelist. Her books include London From My Windows, Meet Me in Barcelona, Three Months in Florence, The Things I Do for You, The Pub Across the Pond, My Sister's Voice, Sunnyside Blues, She'll Take It, and Accidentally Engaged. Readers are welcome to visit her at marycarterbooks.com, find her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter @marycarterbooks.