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West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she's not the only person looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.
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0 0This book was different in mood and story than other books I have read for a very long time. Although it jumps back and forth in time from the backstory that takes place in Sara's diary to a present day disappearance, McMahon does a great job of melding the stories. Sara, who has lost several children and has a wonderful relationship with her 8 year daughter, but perhaps struggles in her marriage, watches her daughter follow her husband out into the snow. Hours later, when the husband returns, he is alone and completely unaware that his daughter had run out after him. The daughter is found dead in the bottom of a deep well. The darkness and grief that enfolds Sara is really the rest of the novel. The story streams on with an old hag, curses, insanity, and violence. It reminded me of early Stephen King books, where it was hard to draw the line between the real and the supernatural, between real and imagined fears. I will absolutely read more books by Jennifer McMahon. Maybe it's time to get back to horror.
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