This was the second novel I’ve read by Barbara O’Neal, and while I liked When We Believed in Mermaids more, I still enjoyed this one.
Set in a small village in Devon, England, four generations of women in one family — Lillian, Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel — try to heal from each other’s actions and flaws, while trying to find Diana, Zoe’s best friend from childhood, who had gone missing. Told in chapters alternating between Poppy, Zoe, and Isabel, we learn about each of their mistakes and successes.
This is primarily a story about the relationships between mothers and daughters, and how easy it is to lose oneself in the title of mother and how it changes the daughter when the mother rebels against it.
I really liked reading about the relationships between these four women and how much they each shaped each other, even when they were trying so hard to be someone else. I thought Isabel’s character — the teenager with a horrible secret — was the most interesting to read about, and, perhaps, even the most mature. I was also drawn to Lillian’s character — the matriarch who became a successful suspense writer only after the untimely death of her husband — who sees murder and mystery everywhere in the small town.
And, really, any book set in a small village in the UK is a draw for me right away, anyway. And even with the seemingly fast ending, which wrapped up too much too quickly, it was still worth a read.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.