The description of this book sounds somewhat familiar: two sisters return to the family estate and confront the past. However, the book is unique and well written.
There are two storylines to the novel. In one, two sisters return to the stately home in the English countryside that was left to them by their Grandmother. The sisters had spent happy summers there until a tragic accident twenty three years ago, after which their cousin Henry disappeared without a trace. Erica hopes to find some resolution for the family while sorting through her grandmother’s things. Everything changed after the accident, yet Erica was too young to know what had really happened. And her sister has been troubled ever since, including recently attempting suicide.
The other part of the novel tells the story of their Great- Grandmother’s life at the turn of the century. Caroline was the only heiress of a wealthy New York family. Caroline decided on the spur of the moment to marry a man and leave her New York home to live on his cattle farm in Oklahoma. Nothing in her privileged upbringing prepared her for this kind of life. She was not prepared for the work, or worse, the isolation of living so far from any other families. Her only company was the local Native Americans who helped on the farm. Still, she is happy with her new husband until the tragedy that affects her and her descendants. How she ended up in England is only part of the mystery.
The novel alternates between the two stories and I found both to be compelling. Whenever I switched storylines I felt I was torn away from one, but then I became just as engrossed with the other. Fans of Rebecca or The House at Riverton will enjoy this first book by a talented new author.
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Tags: Debut Novel, England, Family Secrets, Historical Fiction, Oklahoma, Pam W.'s Picks, Psychological Fiction, Sisters
