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This intriguing psychological thriller begins with Martha, a 7-year-old girl growing up in Kentucky in the 1940s, who experiences the death of her grandmother. Martha remembers her grandmother’s wish that the “fairies” would take her back to Ireland when she died, a memory which introduces the reader to supernatural forces that are a common theme throughout the remainder of the story.
The novel then moves to 2015 where Shelby, a successful supermodel in New York, gets a letter from her grandmother, the now grown Martha, summoning her to come home to a small town on the Ohio River to care for her ailing widowed father. Tragedy and a near-death accident set off a chain of events that leads to Shelby’s disappearance. Is someone close to Shelby the cause of her disappearance and possible death, or has Shelby set off on a mystical journey involving witches, fairies, and evil banshees?
The author skillfully explores the different layers and characters of Shelby’s life to create a riveting plot that keeps the reader eagerly turning pages. Early in the book, the author provides a subtle but crucial clue to the culprit in the disappearance of the heroine, but the abundance of other interesting plotlines may cause the reader to overlook the hint. Setting the novel in Sorry’s Run, Kentucky—a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad—allows the author to explore events in the history of American abolitionism and to develop the theme of overcoming despair, freedom, and hope. This mystery provides fascinating characters and an exciting, page-turning plot for the reader.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review