Well-loved children’s author Mort Lear accidentally dies falling off his roof while trimming a tree.  His will bequeaths everything to his secretary/housekeeper/ companion Tomasina Daulair.  She is used to always being in the background, and thus is overwhelmed with all of the duties she feels she must carry out.  Some of these obligations include entertaining an Academy Award winning actor who will play the part of Lear in an upcoming film while also trying to appease a  museum curator who felt betrayed by Lear and coping with the appearance of her estranged brother.

A House Among the Trees is a good, not great, read.  Often Tomasina is too good to be true-always trying to do what’s best for everyone else without thinking about her needs and desires.