Book Blurb:
When Vivian and her husband Nowell are enlisted to prepare his late
grandmother's country home for sale, they decide to take a break from city
life. Nowell leaves before his wife to begin work on his second mystery novel
and by the time Vivian joins him, a real mystery has begun.
A local girl has died in
the woods behind the house. The tall line of trees separating the old white
house from the thickets and wildlife beyond attracts Vivian, seems to beckon
her within. Details begin to emerge about the victim and Vivian becomes
enmeshed in the secrets of the girl's life and final moments.
Nowell's temperamental
brother arrives with his new wife and the house gets crowded. A woman who
befriends Vivian relays local gossip, including the questionable legacy of the
town's founder, while a
neighbor, a striking man with a buried past of his own,
keeps appearing at strange moments. Meanwhile, Vivian's marriage is unraveling
as Nowell loses himself in his work and Vivian seeks purpose and ultimately,
truth.
My review:
Vivian and her husband Nowell have left suburbia to renovate Nowell's late grandmother's house in preparation for selling it. Vivian has given up her job to work on the house while Nowell is writing his second mystery novel. Nowell has been at the house for a month while Vivian has tied up loose ends in the city. On the day she arrives, the body of a local teenaged girl is found in the woods behind their home.
The incident leaves Vivian questioning everything and she's a bit suspicious of everyone around her. Nowell seems to be shutting her out. Her hot-headed brother-in-law keeps her wary. And the gossip in the town fuels her desire to find out exactly what the truth is.
This is a well-crafted novel. Mary White has a unique style of writing. She uses small details that might otherwise not be relevant to the story, yet they allow your imagination to feel as if you are really experiencing it with Vivian.
Although the mysteries are resolved in the end, I admit to having remaining questions which went unanswered. This is the only thing that kept it from getting a rating of 5 stars from me.
About the author:
Mary Vensel White was born in Los Angeles
and raised in Lancaster, California. She graduated from the University of Denver
and lived for five years in Chicago, where she
completed an MA in English at DePaul
University. She lives in
southern California
with her husband, four children and two badly trained dogs in a chaotic but
happy home. Her husband is an attorney and she is the mom with a book or laptop
at the little league game, soccer field or dance studio.
The Qualities of Wood is her
first novel but she is currently at work on a second, set again in the Midwest, a place that lives and flourishes in her
imagination despite her current sunny surroundings. Vensel White is also
working on a collection of interrelated stories, a method of writing which the
esteemed women of her book club refuse to acknowledge as a novel. Watch for
news about these two projects.
Where can you get your own copy of The Qualities of Wood?
Nice Ms. Shepard! ohh I love when someones writing style HITS me like that!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Thanks for commenting Kriss. :)
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