"I sound contemptuous, but I am not. I am interested--intrigued even--by the way time erases real lives, leaving only vague imprints. Blood and spirit fade away so that only names and dates remain."
Honestly, it’s been so long since I actually read this (and many other books have come in between) that I’m having trouble remembering all the good things I wanted to say about this book. It’s another fabulous Kate Morton book, an author I’m finding I can’t get enough of. This one deals with the story of the Ashbury family, and more particularly, of their maid Grace. Grace has kept the secrets of the Ashbury sisters her whole life, but during the course of an interview for a film being made about the house she in which she used to serve, the memories come back. The primary goal as a reader is to figure out what really happened the night that a young poet presumably shot himself down by the lake, and how what happened there drove the sisters apart.
Kate, as usual, does a lovely job weaving between time periods, as the narrative frame for this one is set in present day, while the events that we are meant to care about took place in Roaring Twenties. The characters are interesting and easy to get invested in. This one was a little easier to predict ahead of time than her later novels, but as this was her first, I think that’s pretty fair. A very enjoyable read, especially if you are a fan of Kate’s, or of the era she is writing about.
Tangentially related side note? I love the cover art on all three of the novels I've read.
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