In a previous life, Lila Mack had been Delilah Blue Lovett, living out an idyllic childhood in Toronto with her unconventional mother, Elisabeth. Everything changed, however, when at age eight, her father, Victor, whisked her away to California, where he gave her a new name, dyed her hair, and tucked her away in a house with no windows facing onto the world.

Although father and daughter have lived happily together, Victor has kept Lila so sheltered that she’s never doubted his explanation that her mother didn’t want her. By age 20, Lila is lost and lonely, posing nude as an artist’s model because it’s as close as she can get to being an artist herself. When her mother reappears in her life, she’s shocked to learn that her father had effectively kidnapped her as a child and that Elisabeth has been searching for her ever since. This revelation shakes up her life, but it turns out to be only the beginning: Elisabeth is not all that she seems, and Victor is starting to show symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s. 

This is the sort of novel readers have come to expect from the author of Town House and Inside Out Girl. Cohen’s popular fiction is balanced comfortably between heavy and light; the author employs humour to touch on serious issues, and she has a thing for precocious little-girl characters. Her prose is intelligent and sparkling, her characterization is deft, and she absolutely nails essential details, such as Lila’s habit of doodling on her boots when she’s nervous.

The Truth About Delilah Blue is not without its problems – there is too much plot, a few tortured metaphors, and the ending is too tidy. A tidy ending, however, also lends its own appeal – this is a book that goes down easy. Cohen uses humour, pathos, and a dose of suspense to create a perfectly enjoyable read.