I am becoming quite the Karen White fan. Who knew? This is, in some respects a difficult book to read given that the main theme is multi-generational spousal abuse, but things work out to a satisfactory ending for both the main characters and the reader.
Merritt Heyward has lived in Maine all of her life and has been widowed for 2 years. Her husband, Cal, died while fighting a fire and Merritt feels that comments she made during an argument (one of many that they had during their marriage) may have directly contributed to Cal's death. When Merritt receives the news that Cal's grandmother has passed away and that she, as Cal's widow, is now heir to the family home in Beaufort, NC, she decides to move south and start a new life. Nondescript, modest, and shy, Merritt, who hides her physical beauty with nondescript, ill-fitting clothes and no make-up, seems like a typical victim of spousal abuse. She is shocked and horrified when she meets Cal's brother, Gibbes, and initially mistakes him for her late husband. Soon after her arrival Merritt's widowed stepmother, Loralee, arrives unexpectedly with her son, Merritt's half-brother, 10-year-old Owen. Merritt believes Loralee to be a bimbo and has never accepted her as her widowed father's wife, but as she gets to know Loralee she begins to regret never taking the time to get to know her late father's second wife (Merritt's mother died when Merritt was twelve) or her half-brother.
White unravels a long and complicated history of not one, but two troubled families, revealing surprising interconnections and patterns of abuse that span generations. The added mystery of Grandmother Edith's seemingly bizarre hobby in the attic (in addition to making sea-glass wind chimes) is fascinating. I have to admit that I sometimes found Merritt's reserve and Loralee's incredible wisdom and fortitude a bit too much, but I ended up loving them both. This is kind of a combination tear-jerker, redemption, and romance. I want to read more of Karen White!
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