Book description: "Hazel DeFord is a woman haunted by her past. While berry picking in a blackberry thicket in 1943, ten-year old Hazel momentarily turns her back on her three-year old sister Maggie and the young girl disappears.
Almost seventy years later, the mystery remains unsolved and the secret guilt Hazel carries has alienated her from her daughter Diane, who can’t understand her mother’s overprotectiveness and near paranoia. While Diane resents her mother’s inexplicable eccentricities, her daughter Meghan—a cold case agent—cherishes her grandmother’s lavish attention and affection.
When a traffic accident forces Meghan to take a six-week leave-of-absence to recover, all three generations of DeFord women find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof. Meghan knows she will have to act as a mediator between the two headstrong and contentious women. But when they uncover Hazel’s painful secret, will Meghan also be able to use her investigative prowess to solve the family mystery and help both women recover all that’s been lost?"
My review: This story really intrigued me when I read the description. To set the story in the 1940's at the beginning and span 70 years and try and solve a cold case had me wondering how that could even be done. The flashbacks were helpful and fit into the story quite appropriately. The story as it unfolded was logical and kept me turning pages to see how the next event could take us closer to the resolution of the mystery. A thread of faith and hope is consistently present. I only felt that the resolution was tied up too quickly. A lot of time was spent getting to that point, but the actual investigation took a very short amount of time. It was disappointing to have everything wrapped up so quickly in the end. Even though I would have liked more time spent on the actual mystery, this was still a wonderful book. I look forward to more books by this author. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Almost seventy years later, the mystery remains unsolved and the secret guilt Hazel carries has alienated her from her daughter Diane, who can’t understand her mother’s overprotectiveness and near paranoia. While Diane resents her mother’s inexplicable eccentricities, her daughter Meghan—a cold case agent—cherishes her grandmother’s lavish attention and affection.
When a traffic accident forces Meghan to take a six-week leave-of-absence to recover, all three generations of DeFord women find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof. Meghan knows she will have to act as a mediator between the two headstrong and contentious women. But when they uncover Hazel’s painful secret, will Meghan also be able to use her investigative prowess to solve the family mystery and help both women recover all that’s been lost?"
My review: This story really intrigued me when I read the description. To set the story in the 1940's at the beginning and span 70 years and try and solve a cold case had me wondering how that could even be done. The flashbacks were helpful and fit into the story quite appropriately. The story as it unfolded was logical and kept me turning pages to see how the next event could take us closer to the resolution of the mystery. A thread of faith and hope is consistently present. I only felt that the resolution was tied up too quickly. A lot of time was spent getting to that point, but the actual investigation took a very short amount of time. It was disappointing to have everything wrapped up so quickly in the end. Even though I would have liked more time spent on the actual mystery, this was still a wonderful book. I look forward to more books by this author. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
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