Arrowood is the most ornate and beautiful of the grand historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa, where the days are long and humid and communities are small and closed. It has its own secrets and ghostly presence: It’s where Arden’s young twin sisters were abducted nearly twenty years ago—never to be seen again. Now, Arden has inherited Arrowood, and she returns to her childhood home determined to establish what really happened that traumatic summer. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined.

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My thoughts:

As Arden returns to her ancestor’s home-Arrowood- in Southern Iowa the author describes an imposing second empire style with three stories in a town called, Keokuk that had once seen grandeur in its days. A town that was once was and now is where great houses had/has its own distinctive architecture mark on it. Where lingering pain inflicted on the family long ago and still holds deep, dark secrets.

This story has such a strong sense of time and place. I contribute that to the author’s impeccable description of imagery, the landscape and the emotions she invokes from her characters. Where tragedy and secrets from the past haunt the present.

The tragedy of Arden and her family losing her twin sisters was gut wrenching and Arden needing to find out what really happen to her little sisters and putting to rest some of the heart ache that came afterwards is brilliantly told. What is even more heart breaking is discovering that everything you thought turns out not what you imagined happened to them. How Arden deals with that is extraordinary.

Laura McHugh has really breathed life into her characters and brings her readers a captivating story. One I will never forget and one I would like to revisit again one day. I can’t say enough about this book and how it impacted me emotionally. I highly recommend this story and have rated it five stars.

I obtained a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Stephanie M. Hopkins