4 stars

This story is set in two timelines: 1959 and the present. I found the 1959 story more interesting than the present. I agree with another reviewer when she said she “just didn’t like their family dynamics.” They have a rebellious teen who is upset at her new stepmother for trying to, as she sees it, “take her mother’s place.” The stepmother on the other hand is also a relatively new mother and trying to conciliate her stepdaughter, but without much luck. It seems confusing and too messy.

The writing in this novel is beautiful. It evokes very clear pictures in the mind. The four sisters of 1959 win out over horrible circumstances and form a bond that is unbreakable.

While this is my first Eve Chase novel, it won’t be my last. I love her writing. It notice her last book got rave reviews also, so I will pick that one up soon.

I want to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam for forwarding to me a copy of this most wonderful book to read.

Last year I read Eve's debut novel, Black Rabbit Hall, and absolutely loved it. I was very much looking forward to a new book by her.

This one is a dual timeline story taking place in the 1950's to present day. Which these are my favorite types of stories but few authors that can pull it off well. Eve, I'm happy to say, does. She opens with a bang with a body being dragged through the grass. I mean, it just screams for you to finish to find out what happens! I think I enjoyed the past story best with the 4 Wilding sisters. I loved their dynamic and their lives better than I did with the present day story. I just didn't like their family dynamics and was happy when we got back to the sisters. I probably would have given this novel 5 stars of it had focused more on the sisters and their missing cousin--it was such a evocative storyline and I wanted more of that. There's no doubt that Eve can write, her storytelling is beautiful. I'm already looking forward to what she writes next.

**Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. (less)

Few authors can make dragging a seemingly dead, bloody body seem beautiful but somehow Eve Chase pulls it off. The book opens with a mystery of whose body is being dragged, who killed them and why along with proof Chase knows a thing or two about getting a reader’s attention.

Her writing style of evoking beauty in the simplest of sentences continues throughout this story which at its heart is one about family and the relationships we create under that banner; the boundaries we’re willing to cross for them. Chase has created a set of incredibly complex and descriptive set of characters. The angry teen upset at her father’s new wife who in her mind is trying to replace her dead mother. A step-mother trying to figure out her place when she’s acutely aware she’s seen as a replacement and not her own person. A father who is on some level naïve to it all as he tries to rebuild his life. A second mother in the past who couldn’t be more different from the one written about in the present. Four sisters who prove the bond between families can survive even the worst of acts. There are family dynamics here that most can relate to or at least feel sympathy for as they play out their respective roles.

The narrative moves back and forth between the past with a story about sisters and the present with a family trying to figure out how they fit in each other’s lives. Chase does a good job with the transition so as the stories change you’re able to movie between them easily especially as the chapters about the sisters are written in the 1st person from Margot’s point of view and the ones with the family are written in 3rd. Eventually everything becomes intertwined in quite a sweet way.

I couldn’t stop reading this because there is just something so hauntingly exquisite about the way Chase writes a story that examines the fragility and strength of family bonds. It’s the kind of book you curl up with when you have uninterrupted time, a hot cup of tea nearby and a nice breeze wafting through the window so you can be reminded how precious live is.

Margot was only 15 when she and her four sisters arrived at Applecote Manor in 1959. Far from being the comfortable, loving home in the country they expected, they find the house filled with their aunt and uncle’s unrelenting sorrow for the daughter who disappeared five years earlier. As her sisters find ways to amuse themselves, Margot becomes intrigued by the missing Audrey and finds herself assuming the girl’s role, and then something happens that changes Margot and her family forever. A half century later, Jesse is chomping at the bit to leave behind the London home her new husband shared with his deceased wife. She wants a fresh start and Applecote Manor, out in the country sounds like a wonderful place to do so. But Jesse’s joy is short-lived as she finds herself isolate far from the city, stuck with a teenage step-daughter who makes no secret that she doesn’t care for her new stepmother. Dark rumors about the property and what happened there don’t help and soon Jesse feels totally cut off. This is Gothic / country house story that will delight readers of both genres