The synopsis: Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the very literal family skeleton stays buried or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neat and on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 14-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne.
The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.
My thoughts: With Borders closing, I made sure to stop in all of the nearby stores when the announcements were made to see which books tickled my fancy. I grabbed one of Joshilyn Jackson's novels, opened it the same night (despite having bought approximately 40 books that night - for some reason her covers just catch me and keep my attention.) and didn't put it down until 3 hours later finished, feeling exhilarated, drained, and intent on finding any and all of her books (there are only 4 so far. Boo.). So the next day, off I went to another Borders to get my grubby hands on any others I could find. After a month of little to no reading, I grabbed this book yesterday and again, refused to put it down until I was done. Everything about a Joshilyn Jackson book (in my limited experience of having read three) is hauntingly melodic and the story seeps in and wraps itself around your brain, demanding your complete attention. Beautifully written, incredibly creepy and 1000% unique, this book was intense and captivating from start to finish for me.
Posted by Ashley
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3 comments:
I have read several of her books and loved each one. I have this one but have not read it yet but I really must get to it soon.
i really liked the book i read by her as well. i haven't read this one yet, but i'll keep an eye out for it!
I really like the story.Thanks for sharing the post..
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