What if you were the worst crime your mother ever committed?
Dahlia Waller’s childhood memories consist of stuffy cars, seedy motels, and a rootless existence traveling the country with her eccentric mother. Now grown, she desperately wants to distance herself from that life. Yet one thing is stopping her from moving forward: she has questions.
In order to understand her past, Dahlia must go back. Back to her mother in the stifling town of Aurora, Texas. Back into the past of a woman on the brink of madness. But after she discovers three grave-like mounds on a neighboring farm, she’ll learn that in her mother’s world of secrets, not all questions are meant to be answered…
They settle again in Aurora, Texas. But always there is a major hurdle to a normal life: what Dahlia calls “paperwork issues.” There are no birth certificates or social security numbers, so all jobs are worked off the books.
After high school, Dahlia leaves Texas and is gone for fifteen years. Upon her return, she connects with an old friend, Bobby, who is now a cop. She continues to work off the books, used to it by now, while still feeling some resentment at how she and her mother have lived their lives.
Shortly after returning “home,” Dahlia is out jogging and stumbles upon a girl, badly beaten and unconscious. The mystery of who she is and what happened to her will hover over the story until the end.
Alternating narratives from the past show moments in the lives of Quinn, Tain, and an old woman named Aella. Their stories somehow mesh with the lives of Memphis and Dahlia, but we will not connect the dots until finally, near the end, Memphis starts sharing the tale in bits and pieces.
I kept reading because I wanted the answers, and I was definitely curious about what was behind all the secrets Memphis was keeping. So much of what had happened to her was horrific, so I could empathize. But I was also very glad for the story to end. It was repetitive in parts, as each character told bits of her story. I felt closure at the end, so in that sense, it was satisfactory. But for me, it earned 3.5 stars.
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A new one for me. Thanks for the update.
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Thanks for stopping by, Mystica, and enjoy your reading.
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A good illustration of why sometimes its better not to ask questions….
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Definitely ! Thanks for stopping by, Karen.
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I think I would have had to keep reading too! I’m super curious about what the big secrets are and I’m not even reading it right now! I’m not sure this is for me. It sounds good but repetitiveness can get real old real fast – especially with the number of really fantastic thrillers out there.
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I agree, Katherine, and for the longest time, there were parts about the MC that kept sweeping back, keeping me engaged.
I picked this one up because I’d enjoyed Remember Mia…but then I recalled, as I was slogging through this one, that there were repetitive and tedious parts in that one, too.
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I get what you mean about curiosity keeping you going. I am reading such a book now. Really slow but I am very curious about how everything will turn out so I keep turning the pages. Great review. I may add this one to my TBR.
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Thanks, Diana, and I also know that others might not have an issue with the slow parts. Enjoy!
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Too bad it suffered with repetitiveness and the like. It does sound interesting.
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Thanks, Kimberly, and despite the repetitiveness and slow parts, my overall feeling was of liking it, and eagerness to find out the secrets to the family story.
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It sounds like this one didn’t live up to its potential.
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Thanks for stopping by, Kathy, and yes, it could have done without some of the more tedious parts…
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I read her first book, Remember Mia, last year and LOVED it. I think I gave it 4.5 or 5 stars. have you read that one?
I didn’t realize she had a new book out so I’ll be checking this title out too for sure.
http://runwright.net
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Thanks for stopping by, Karen, and yes, I did read Remember Mia. I gave it a 4. Both books were good, but, IMO, there were too many slow parts. Overall, enjoyable.
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