he Unveiling of Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney is an engaging historical mystery set in rural Michigan in 1934. The story is told from three points of view: Polly Forrest, her sister, Sarah Wolcott Johnson, and her brother-in-law, Reverend Wesley Johnson. When Polly’s new husband Sam is killed in a farm accident, Polly and her nearby family members become suspects in his death. Was it an accident or murder? If it was murder, who committed the crime?

The Great Depression was a tough time economically for most. In addition to the stock market crash and bank failures, farmers faced drought and over-production which led to reduced prices. The sisters’ families faced true hardship from working hard on their farms to having very little to eat to outgrowing clothes and having no money to buy replacements. Additionally, as a minister Wesley had to find ways to repair roof leaks at the church as well as help his congregation as massive job losses and dropping meat and dairy prices affected everyone. It was a time when a telephone, indoor plumbing, and electricity were luxuries in this small community near Marshall, Michigan. However, there were other dangers including a variety of crimes and rumors.

Polly, Sarah, and Wesley are all very flawed characters and weren’t very likeable at times. Polly essentially married so she wouldn’t have to move with her mother to take care of her grandmother. She thought Sam was wealthy and had no idea what her married life would be like. She hates the isolation and is self-centered. However, she shows tremendous character depth and growth over the course of the story. Sarah is somewhat self-righteous, and gets easily frustrated over Polly’s immaturity. Meanwhile Wesley is flawed, but mainly likeable and tries to help everyone.

Short chapters alternate between the three perspectives and their reflections on the events that occur. While this shows how each person perceived events and people, it also seemed to interrupt the flow for me. There’s a strong sense of time that easily transports readers to 1934. Ms. Whitney did a great job of painting a picture of the lives of the sisters, their families, and the surrounding community. She obviously did a lot of research to ensure historical accuracy. Themes include community, family relationships, friendship, death, forgiveness, secrecy, deception, lies, people loving and supporting one another despite their failings, and much more.

Overall, the story is moving and entertaining. Many readers of historical fiction and family dramas will likely enjoy it. This is the second book I have read by this author and I’m looking forward to reading what she writes next.

Lake William Press – Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members’ Titles and Charlotte Whitney provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for March, 2022.

This was a wonderful story set during the Depression. The main character is Polly who marries a much older man at the age of 20. Her sister married to a minister with 3 children lives next to her husband. There are struggles with the farming, people losing their jobs and homes. Polly's husband dies. In death a whole can of worms is opened and his true character is revealed. Polly deals with a lot of unhappiness and turmoil based on her husband. The book has many twists and turns.

Great story of self growth and self worth woven in with the views and expectations of others along with a murder mystery. I loved the multiple view points from the different characters.

The Great Depression is vividly brought to life in this historical novel which is part family drama,, part mystery-suspense. Rural Michigan is the setting and I must commend the author, as the book is entirely faithful to the era in which it is set. There is good character exploration and development, yet the book struggled to hold my attention. The deaths of two animals seemed unnecessary to the plot and quite upsetting to read. I found the action scenes kind of clunky and difficult to envision.

Was this book already published or under a different name at one point? I'm certain I've read this story before.

Set in Michigan during the Great Depression - Polly's husband, Sam, is mauled to death by their bull and she's suspect in his death because he beat her. Her sister and her family lives up on the hill next door and keeps watch over her. Turns out Sam was involved in some shady business and his partners come after Polly. It's either an old story or there is one pretty similar - I knew the twist in the end and even about the boys in the silo before reading those parts. It's a good book, will keep you reading to find out what did happen to Sam - and that's the big twist.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

3.5 - When I saw that this was set in Michigan during the Great Depression, I knew that I wanted to read it! There were parts of the book that I really liked, but then there were parts that seemed thrown in just for shock value with no real movement of the story line. Overall, there was a powerful message of growth and pulling together through hard times that I enjoyed.

Synopsis
Rural Michigan, 1934.
When her new husband Sam dies in a freak farm accident, Polly soon becomes the prime suspect in his murder. As she looks for evidence to clear her name, Polly discovers more about her late husband than she could have imagined.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This story is narrated by Polly, Polly’s older sister, Sarah, and Sarah’s husband, Wes, a Methodist minister. All characters were relatable, likable, and believable. The setting is rural Michigan during the depression. The author did a great job describing the setting and the plight of many in the 1930s.

From the very beginning, the reader learns that the relationship between Polly and Sarah is tense and somewhat complicated. Sarah comes off as judgmental and self-righteous. Polly is portrayed as idealistic and naive but what 20 year old isn’t? I was instantly rooting for Polly to prove Sarah wrong and show that she could be responsible and self-sufficient.

This story has great character development and kept me guessing with lots of twists and turns. I found the events in the story to be well-paced, interesting, and even surprising at times.

Anyone who enjoys historical crime fiction should give this book a try!

I would like to thank @netgalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Told through the easy to follow voices and letters of three engaging characters, I would describe "The Unveiling of Polly Forrest" as historical crime fiction. This is the second of Charlotte Whitney's books I have read. And is again set in the time of the great depression 1930s rural USA. A time which Charlotte has well researched and she paints a vivid picture of the rural life of Michigan.....where Charlotte also lives.
Polly is our main character who lives just down the hill from her sister Sarah, who is married to a preacher named Wes. To the fore, is the tense relationship between the 2 sisters....complicated dynamics of love, annoyance, mistrust and the knowledge gained from knowing someone their whole lives.
"Unveiling" is a revealing play on words, which ties Polly's story together, moving swiftly through the hardest (we hope) times of her young life. So many mistakes made....all the better for deeper lessons learnt during her metamorphosis.
An ensemblance cast of characters and animals, whose demise tugs at your heartstrings.
Not a cosy work of fictional life in rural Michigan; there are dramas that keep you on the edge of your seat and a sneaky twist - which I won't spoil here - but I was totally blindfolded!
I enjoyed the three points of view and their interpretations of the happenings. All three story tellers are flawed and have their own agendas. A complex but easy to follow story which I really enjoyed.....another winner for Charlotte Whitney in my mind.
Thanks to NetGalley, Charlotte Whitney and Lake William Press for my copy of this book.

I received this ebook as an ARC from NetGalley.
Although this book is not one I would normally choose, I found it very interesting. It kept me on the edge of my seat several times! It’s setting in the 1930s during The Great Depression intrigued me even more to read it as I had grandparents who all four lived through those times. The storyline was very relatable with family relationships, hardships, trials, gatherings, emotions and so much more. I found the title of the book quite brilliant as the plot unfolded. The main characters of the book were also relatable, likable and for the most part very easy to follow throughout the book.
I am a “vanilla” type of reader in that I like a good, easy read with very little graphic scenes or language. So, my four star grade reflects my style and preferences when reading a book. The one “intense encounter” between Pastor Wesley and Polly I found unnecessary for the story’s plot. I also didn’t find the handful of vulgar words needed but also appreciate that there were only a few sprinkled throughout the book. All that being said, I don’t give many four star grades to books and even fewer five stars. So even with the few things I disliked, the overall storyline made up for them and I was able to continue on, finish the book and appreciate the author’s work.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Unveiling if Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney. I found the setting and characters to be very engaging. The story gave a realistic picture of the difficulties faced by families during the depression. There were some unexpected twists and turns that were delightful and kept me turning pages until the end. I would recommend this book and look forward to more by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting was so beautifully described that I could really visualise it perfectly. From the first chapter I was drawn in and trying to assess whether or not I thought Polly was being honest in her letters to her Mother. All three of the speaking characters were just flawed enough to be real and just nice enough to be redeemable and to have my sympathies.
The sisterly tension between Polly and Sarah made it impossible to judge which woman’s version of their upbringing was the correct one. Wes was, while deeply flawed, a wonderful pastor and the sense of community around the church was really heartwarming.
The novel is a very good whodunnit but along side that it is a very strong pastoral story and historical insight into rural communities during the Great Depression.
I thought I had it all figured out, then changed my mind, then settled on another explanation and so on right until the final page. I will definitely read any other books by Charlotte Whitney.

I thought this was a Christian book as one of the main character bis a preacher. It is not at all!
I gave up at 44%.