Literature, Historical Fiction -- 5 stars
In 1873, two Norwegian immigrant women were murdered on a remote island known as Smuttynose, 10 miles off the coast of New Hampshire. It's 135 years later, and a photographer is on assignment to document the island for a magazine story. Hoping to make a bit of a family vacation out of the assignment, Jean brings her husband, her small daughter, her brother-in-law, and his girlfriend along for what they think will be a few leisurely days of sailing. Close quarters and isolation make the trip more than a bit uncomfortable, and exposes holes in relationships that might have gone unnoticed elsewhere. Books that switch time periods are not unusual; but this one is written in an odd juxtaposition of "then and now" that changes periods, not by chapter or voice, but suddenly and jarringly between paragraphs with no warning or explanation. It creates a feeling of unease that sets the mood for a book that is moving, and unsettling, and lonely. According to the author's notes, the trial scenes are taken directly from existing court transcripts. She has filled in the rest of the story in a way that is hauntingly chilling, a world colored grey by circumstance and history.
Sounds very interesting. I'll put this on my "to read" list. Thanks
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