Author: Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: Headline Publishing
Publishing Date: 20th January 2022
Many thanks to the publishing team for my copy and a spot on the blog tour
Blurb
1965. A young white female student becomes involved in the fight for civil rights in North Carolina, falling in love with one of her fellow activists, a Black man, in a time and place where an interracial relationship must be hidden from family, friends and especially the reemerging Ku Klux Klan. As tensions rise in the town, she realises not everyone is who they appear to be.
2010. A recently widowed architect moves into the home she and her late husband designed, heartbroken that he will never cross the threshold. But when disturbing things begin to happen, it's clear that someone is sending her a warning. Who is trying to frighten her away, and why?
Decades later, past and present are set to collide in the last house on the street...
My thoughts
Do you ever start a book knowing it is going to be good but then it just exceeds your expectations, well this book did exactly that. It pulls together historical fiction and contemporary writing so enticingly. The story moves in-between timeline through the chapters but very easy to stay on track with.
Even after the loss of her husband Jackson, Kayla moves into the newly build and designed her and her late husband created with their 4 year old daughter Rainie. It wasn't the vision she had and the happy moment is filled with sadness. During the final renovations a sinister women pays her a visit and not for the good. After this strange things start to happen and this utterly scares Kayla. However as the story progresses we get to learn about the mysterious women and the connection she has to the house.
We get to learn about Ellie in the 1960's and in the present which I really liked as we got a backstory. Ellie is a Pharmacy student and decides instead of working in her fathers shoe shop she wants to Civil Rights Work over the summer, much to the disapproval of her family. Ellie suffers a loss in her story and it is heartbreaking, She starts to fall in love with Win but there are lots of barriers to overcome. She meets Win as part of the programme, as she has to live with a Black American Family and slowly starts to realise her comfortable, white middle class life is miles apart from the surroundings she is in now.
As Ellie moves back to look after her mother and brother we learn more about the connection of Ellie and Kayla and the history of the area for both timelines are the same. I most definitely preferred Ellie's story line and narrative as it was so intense and powerful. I also learnt more about the SCOPE project which I wasn't aware of before. There was so much sadness, you feel angry for the ongoings and outrange with some characters during that time.
So cleverly written that it pulls at the heart strings and sends shivers down you spine. I would definitely recommend you give this a read.
Comments
Post a Comment