By Kavita Mistry
by Cathryn Conroy (Dublin, Ohio): While this is a really good novel, the narrative is uneven. There are a lot of pages in which the plot is being slowly—very slowly—unspooled, but once it hits the final third of the book, the pace picks up considerably. Just know that going in.
Written by Kelly Mustian, this is a novel told in two timelines, taking place from Clay Mountain, North Carolina to Natchez, Mississippi and several lonely, backwater spots in between.
Storyline No. 1: It’s 1971 and at age 42 and in between jobs, Nell Brown is determined to uncover the mysteries and unanswered questions about her birth and her sister Evie’s even more enigmatic early childhood. Nell’s mother Hazel refuses to offer any information and is offended when Nell asks questions. Nell has no idea who her father is, and neither of them know about Evie’s parents. Nell vaguely remembers a dark, rainy night when Evie not yet two years old was brought to their house by a man in a truck, and soon after Hazel fled the area with the two little girls. One day as children, they find a “cradle roll” tucked into a copy of “Jane Eyre” that lists two strangers as Evie’s parents. Where had Evie come from?
Storyline No. 1: It’s the early 1930s during the Great Depression. Soon after Becca Chambers loses the only woman she has ever known as her mother, a woman who cared for her since she was six years old, Becca is also widowed. After Ben’s untimely death, Becca is left having to support their baby girl, Evie. Her evil, meddling mother-in-law causes Becca to flee far away with Evie. Even so, the unthinkable happens to Evie after the greatest betrayal imaginable, destroying Becca’s life.
When the two stories finally merge after quite a few twists and turns, the novel becomes a page-turner that is impossible to put down. But you have to be patient until you get to this point. Tighter writing and better editing would have fixed the early issues.
Engaging and tender, this multilayered story that is filled with secrets just waiting to be revealed is one that celebrates the love of mothers, the desolation of betrayal, and the exaltation of redemption.