Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey Niffeneggar. New York, NY : Audioworks, Simon & Schuster Audio, 2009.

This story begins with a death. Elspeth Noblin dies from leukemia with her lover, Robert, at her side. In her will Elspeth leaves her London flat and assets to her two American nieces, Julia and Valentina. In order to claim their inheritance, the sisters must live in the flat for one year, and never allow their parents to enter the apartment. Julia and Valentina have never had much ambition to do anything with their lives, and since they do not have anything, or anyone, to lose, they decide to move to London for the year.

As the girls begin to explore the city and the neighboring Highgate Cemetery, they also discover the residents in Elspeth’s building:  Martin, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive-disorder, is a lone prisoner of his flat, since his wife recently left him. Robert, Elspeth’s former lover, lives above the girls. Julia and Valentina are a grim reminder of Robert’s loss, since they bear a striking resemblance to Elspeth. Yet, Julia and Valentina are not initially aware of all the building’s tenants. Elspeth herself is haunting her flat. The deeply attached twins do not realize that their seemingly simple stay in London will alter their lives, and all of those around them, forever. By searching for excitement and escape from their mundane American lives, Julia and Valentina will end up finding and losing far more than they could have ever predicted.

Audrey Niffenegger has also penned The Time Traveler’s Wife, which was recently released as a major motion picture.