Wow. The joy of finding a new voice, of finding a novel that captivates and holds me, causing me to lose sleep, literally. Especially terrific is that I had never heard of this author or this book before grabbing it from the pile at the Goodwill Outlet.

Lulu is an inconspicuous 21-year-old wallflower who works in a dime store in the 1950s. She lives with her mother, prays perhaps excessively, dresses drably, rarely wears makeup or does anything with her hair. She sometimes has lunch at the lunch counter, and it is here where her life begins to change.

An older, very well put-together man sits at the counter and draws her attention with his comments about her. He is complimentary and careful. Over time he gains her trust and interest and the two meet at a nearby museum, where they have tea and where Lulu learns to ignore the server. This action heralds what is to come. Rather like putty, she wants to mold herself in the right shape, although she isn't sure what that is. She only knows her life wasn't going anywhere and now it looks more interesting.

Mr. Rafferty introduces Lulu to a society woman, Mrs. Gansevoort, who lives in a mansion with her niece, Chloris. Mrs. Gansevoort is clearly taken by Lulu after having a brief conversation with her, and asks her to move in that very day. Lulu is taken with Mrs. Gansevoort, finding her thoughtful and kind. Lulu is especially thrown by all the attention given her, the positive helpful attention, and she giddily accepts. She is very quickly made over by Mrs. Gansevoort, dressed in clothes worn by Mrs. Gansevoort's daughter, who died in a car accident about five years before, as well as in clothes and jewelry belonging to Mrs. Gansevoort's sister, the mother of the young woman living there. Mrs. Gansevoort even cuts her hair.

Lulu emulates Lucia Gansevoort, walking as she does, behaving as she does. She is brought in as a companion to Mrs. Gansevoort, a helper in the writing of a book, and she does her work industriously and with care. She quickly picks up how she is to treat others, including Chloris, who is treated unkindly. Lulu figures out how to overpower the teenager, how to assert her superiority. When she accomplishes tasks like this, she finds she has the approval of both Mrs. Gansevoort and Mr. Rafferty, a frequent visitor.

Lulu grows in her skills in presenting herself to others and managing her relations. She learns by watching and listening, and even by implication rather than outright direction. She learns how to read Mrs. Gansevoort and Mr. Rafferty and wants nothing better than to please her hostess at all times. She is devoted to her in a way that she previously was devoted to her prayer, if not more so.

When Chloris's brother Douglas comes home from college Lulu finds her allegiances challenged. But she's well trained.

I found it to be a provocative psychological thriller confined almost entirely to the inside of a house.
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