In this book, family secrets have repercussions that affect multiple generations. Amanda and Mattie are close sisters who live on a farm in the midwest. They have a complicated relationship, and after Mattie marries, Amanda seems distraught but finds purpose as a nurse during WW1. After a bought of influenza, her world seems to upend. A love affair with a charming womanizer makes matters worse.
How far should loyalty to a family member go? Is it healthy to perpetuate family secrets? This is a "thriller" in the sense that the events of the fateful night are not fully revealed until the last page. The author writes that she had difficulty with the plot, she wanted the focus to be more on the relationships in the novel, and I agree that the relationships were very compelling. The characters were interesting and believable. I enjoyed it a lot. ( )

I'm wondering why it took so long for me to read this book. I thought that it was a great story and found that the characters and plot stuck with me and appeared in my dreams. ( )

Didn’t capture my interest so didn’t finish. ( )

Not a bad read but I expected more. I enjoyed the characters but the plot was a bit contrived in places. The main character . Mandy, was difficult to like and/or sympathise with and I'd occasionally get her and her niece (Ruth), and the niece's mother, Mathilda, mixed up.

this is not so surprising as there were strong similarities between these characters and at times I thought they were supposed to merge together. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Required some online review to recall, but . . . Most frustratingly the reviews don't share the answer of what exactly did happen the night that Ruth's mother drowned. Remembered as good, but can't remember the ending! May have to re-read some day!" ( )