Home Sweet Home

by April Smith

From the widely praised author of the FBI Special Agent Ana Grey series and A Star for Mrs. Blake, this riveting epic drama follows the Kusek family from New York City to America's heartland, where they are caught up in the panic of McCarthyism, a smear campaign, a sensational trial, and, ultimately, murder.

Calvin Kusek, a WWII pilot and attorney, and his wife, Betsy, escape the 1950s conformity of New York City to relocate to a close-knit town in South Dakota. They settle on a ranch and Betsy becomes a visiting nurse, befriending a quirky assortment of rural characters. Their children, Jo and her brother Lance, grow up caring for animals and riding rodeo. Life isn't easy, but it is full and rewarding. When a seat in the State Assembly becomes available, Cal jumps at the chance to repay the community and serves three popular terms.
Things change when Cal runs for the U.S. Senate. The FBI investigates Betsy, and a youthful dalliance with the Communist Party surfaces to haunt the Kuseks. Mass hysteria takes over, inflamed by Cal's political enemies. Driven by fear and hate, their neighbors turn, condemning them as enemies and spies. The American Dream falls apart overnight as the Kuseks try to protect their children from the nightmare that follows. The family is vindicated in a successful libel lawsuit, but the story doesn't end there: years later, Lance Kusek and his wife and son are brutally attacked, and the mystery then unfolds as to who committed this coldblooded murder, and are they related to the stunning events of decades earlier?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Politics, Historical

351 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2017

About the author

Here's the down and dirty: grew up in the Bronx, went to college in Boston, graduate school in California, back to Cambridge to write a first failed novel and learn how the world works by writing ad copy,west to Los Angeles in 1976 for a career writing and producing TV, until the writer's strike of 1988 when I wrote my first novel on spec, North of Montana. Two wonderful grown children and the best husband in the world, now of 34 years. Stable enough on the outside but take away swimming, writing, hiking, yakking with girlfriends, pet pooches, chocolate chip cookies (the gooey kind), British TV series and grapefruit Martinis -- well, don't.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Kuseks, Betsy and Cal, with their young daughter Jo, and baby son Liam leave New York and head for the open spaces in South Dakota. Scotty, a friend of Cals from the military and his family own a ranch, and the Kuseks hope to start a new and better life for their family by acquiring a ranch of their own. For a while they seem to be successful but then a past youthful indiscretion of Betsys rears its ugly head, there will be a trial and later a murder that will bring a now grown Jo home again.

This is a hard story for me to review, there was so much I liked.. The life of a rancher, the hardships they encounter, bull riding, the relentless hunt of McCarthyism and the total fear of Communism, all seemed very realistic. This the atmosphere was spot on. Some of the story was, however, was quite slow and others seemed rushed.

This was based on a true story though the location was moved and the characters invented. Much to like, I just wish the pacing would have been more even. A good story though, showing the far reaching effects of McCarthyism on one particular family.

ARC from publisher.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars.
The story starts at Mercy Medical Centre in 1985 with Jo Kusek visiting her brother Lance and nephew Willie, who have been savagely attacked and are barely clinging to life. Wendy, her sister in law is already dead from the brutal home invasion. Then the story moves back to 1950 where Calvin Kusek, a world war 2 pilot and attorney, with his wife Betsy opt for a change of lifestyle. They make the move from New York to a small town in South Dakota. It tells of their life building up a ranch. When Calvin decides to run for the senate, secrets from the past and Betsy’s brief flirtation with the Communist party is uncovered. Since this is set during the McCarthy era this has severe consequences for the Kuseks.
I found this story very uneven in pacing. Some parts were easy to read. Others places felt like I was wading through treacle. As I result I never felt totally engaged with the book. While I liked some aspects of the story and characters, I felt it all dragged on far too much. Possibly the fact that I am not American and didn’t know as much about American Politics, may have compounded my lack of reading involvement. So, for me it was an okay read but not overly engaging. Those more informed about McCarthy and American politics may find it a more interesting read.

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home Sweet Home started out very strong. The topic is fascinating and certainly relevant for the issues we are facing in 2016. However, it really dragged on as the book continued, and I didn’t love the ending. I would have liked the story better if it had been edited down a bit (second review I have written this week saying that exact same thing). After I finished it, I read the Author’s Note and learned that she based Home Sweet Home on a true incident which explained the ending a little bit.

The book is set in two time periods, one beginning in the 1950’s and the other in 1985. 95% of the story is set in the earlier time period which I found a little disorienting. It would have been nice if it was a little more balanced. In 1950, the Kusek family leaves NYC to move to Rapid City, South Dakota. The Kuseks are Democrats living amongst mainly Republicans and initially fit in fairly well with the new neighbors. However, Cal Kusek decides to run for the Senate, and the FBI investigates the family. Betsy’s youthful brief infatuation with the Communist Party comes back to haunt the family. Sadly, this occurs during the height of the McCarthy era, and the Kuseks are unfairly tormented and terrorized. This portion of the book should surely serve as a reminder to the United States in our current political climate. The brief part of the story that takes place in 1985 deals with the murder of one of the Kusek’s grown children. Usually when two time periods are used, the story connects up successfully. I did not feel like that happened here. I also felt the cover had nothing whatsoever to do with the story which is a pet peeve of mine.

Thanks to First to Read for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Marjorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is loosely based on a real-life family who was victimized by the fear and hatred created during the McCarthy era. Cal Kuseck and his wife Betsy move their two children, Jo and Lance, to a cattle farm in South Dakota. The book chronicles their struggle to adapt to their new life. Cal becomes interested in politics and serves three terms in the State Assembly. When he decides to run for the Senate, the FBI looks more closely into his and his family’s past affiliations and learn of Betsy’s short membership in the Communist party when she was a very young woman. Cal’s political enemies start a smear campaign and his friends and neighbors turn against him. This all leads to a libel lawsuit and ultimately, many years later, to murder.

I had expected this to be a fascinating, empathetic book but for some reason, I never could really connect with the characters. I thought this book would really speak to my heart, especially during this difficult time in our country when people are so divided and fear is prevalent. I read this book during the last days of the presidential election. But I really didn’t get caught up in the victimization of this family and didn’t find much suspense in the murder either. It felt a bit flat and disjointed to me. But it’s certainly a timely book and shows just how fear and hate can grow in a country until it produces unreasonable mass hysteria.

This book was given to me by the publisher through First to Read in return for an honest review.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

April Smith has taken real-life events, relocated them to the state of South Dakota, and created an excellent historical account of the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and what hate and fear can do to a nation and even more personally, a community. I could not help but think of our 2016 campaign for President.

It begins with a break-in and murder in Rapid City, SD in 1985. The Kuseks - Lance, Wendy, and their son Willie - are savagely beaten and Wendy dies. Lance and their son are rushed to the hospital where their lives are in question. Lance’s sister Jo arrives from her home in Portland, OR and the story moves backwards in time.

In 1941 Betsy Ferguson and Cal Kusek meet and fall in love in NYC. He is a young and promising liberal lawyer and she a Gimbels’ clerk and fledgling member of the Communist Party. They marry, tire of the pace on the East Coast and move to Rapid City, SD where Cal’s Army buddy, Scotty, has roots. Through hard work, help from Scotty and his parents, and sheer determination, Betsy and Cal start a new life, have and raise Jo and Lance and enjoy success on their ranch. Cal thrives in local politics and is convinced to run for U.S. Senate. At this time, the FBI investigates Betsy for her past ties to the Communist Party, and the Kuseks’ storybook existence begins to fall apart.

While the majority of the novel follows Cal and Betsy’ life in 1950’s and 60’s Rapid City, we are occasionally brought back to “current” events in the Rapid City Hospital where Lance and Willie fight for life and Jo tries to piece together what has happened to what’s left of her family and if it’s related to the past.

I found this book to be very informative (I forgot to mention the Minuteman Program) while never losing its personal feel. A strong reminder of how quickly fear can turn friends against friends and even destroys families.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of April Smith’s work since her first novel, North of Montana. Smith has the ability to create suspenseful stories featuring flawed and relatable characters. In Home Sweet Home, she focuses on Kusek family living in the McCarthy era (a time period many contemporary readers may know little about), and how events from the 1950s may have repercussion years later. Smith based her story on a real crime that took place in a small town in Washington, changing the setting to the South Dakota prairies, which she renders in loving and realistic detail.

Thanks to the publisher for this advance reading copy.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often pick books of interest from the "New Books" shelf at my local library. I'm rarely disappointed. But then, on occasion I happen to read a book that is simply captivating. The story from April Smith is a chilling one, based on a true story from a different part of the country. Her story is set in Rapid City, SD about a young couple, Cal and Betsy and their two children who move to South Dakota from New York, investing in the land and becoming ranchers. Cal is invested in Democratic politics and becomes a state legislator in this VERY conservative state. The bulk of the story takes place in the period of time from the 1950's and 1960's, Joe McCarthy and his terrible witch hunt for alleged Communists, the frightening times of possible nuclear war and the beginning of the Cold War. The characters are genuine and believable. The story revolves around a horrible murder that takes place in the mid 1980's involving the adult son of Cal and Betsy and the tale of all their lives leading up to this terrible event. The most chilling part is the awful similarity of the politics and frightening viewpoints of today's citizens and what went on a half century ago. Kudos to Ms. Smith for a fine book. I am definitely recommending it.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Home Sweet Home was an enjoyable read. The references to McCarthyism were enlightening and touched on a topic I haven’t read much about. The characters were well developed and easy to like or dislike. There were a few I was not crazy about, but that is true of the people we encounter in our lives on a daily basis; so it was right on target.

The landscape of South Dakota came to life. I could imagine the dry earth and the snow; the smells from the cattle ranch and the many hardships the Kusek family endured living in a rural town.

I struggled to be swept away by the book. I enjoyed the plot, but everything moved a little too slow. There were many, many references to cattle ranching, but not about the trial or the McCarthyism of the time. I would like to have had more clues to the assault on Lance and his family through out the book. Keep the suspense building until the end. The conclusion of the Kusek families trial and Lances attack seemed rushed. Everything ended abruptly for me. It was too slow in the first three quarters of the book and too much was thrown in at the end.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to First to Read for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Home Sweet Home by April Smith takes a new look on a true story, set in a different place and different characters, about the personal experiences of a family that are attacked by fear-fueled hate in the times of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. The story travels back and forth from the 1980s and the 1950s/1960s, when the Kusek family moves from the busy world of New York to the cattle ranch life in South Dakota. Cal Kusek is a lawyer and helped his wife, Betsy, get out of jail when she was arrested during a protest while being a member of a young communist party. She quickly leaves the party when her views change but they come back to haunt her and her family in South Dakota when Cal decides to run for the U.S. Senate. I can't help but compare this story to the presidential race that is currently happening. Definitely recommend.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

April Smith's Home Sweet Home examines the Red Scare in the American heartland, drawing inspiration from a true story (with names and locations altered). Smith's two protagonists are Cal Kusek, an ambitious New York lawyer, and his wife Betsy, an idealistic woman with a radical past. The young couple and their children move to South Dakota in the early '50s, quickly establishing themselves as part of the community. All goes well for a few years until Cal enters politics, and rumors about him and his wife's beliefs, morals and secret intentions spread like wildfire, threatening their livelihood...and indeed, their lives. Smith, ordinarily a crime novelist (best known for her Ana Grey series), does a nice job sketching rural life in the '50s and the fear, suspicion and cliquishness that easily conquers a small town; the book's most convincing in its scenes of Cal and Betsy slowly growing enmeshed in innuendo and smear, justified by the era's hyper-patriotism. But Smith fails to match her scene-setting with compelling characters: the protagonists are too virtuous to believe, and the other townspeople mostly exist as mouthpieces for politics, homilies about small-town life or villainous punching bags (particularly an evangelical radio host who becomes Cal's chief rival). A framing device, involving a decades-later murder inspired by the Kusek's plight, is underdeveloped and unnecessary, even if it shows how hate and fear aren't easily extinguished. Mostly, it's serviceable historical fiction that feels like it should have been better.

[Katherine Matychak · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half of the book was interesting as it referred to McCarthyism and how out of control people got when extremists used fear to get power (sound familiar?). Some of the characters changed in ways that didn't make sense and didn't relate to the flash forward sections. Ending extremely unsatisfying and nonsensical.

[Amanda Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 because the first half was a struggle. Glad I kept going as the second half was decent ...

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story moves between a family who moves to South Dakota in the 1950s and the daughter in 1985!dealing with repercussions of events from her childhood. This could have been a good book.

It was not.

I felt like the author intensely disliked the people of South Dakota she was writing about, and every description was almost dripping with condescension. These were a bunch of backward idiots who wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked them in the face.

The bouncing back and forth between time periods - it didn’t work. I’d be reading along about the 50s/60s, and we’d jump to 1985 for not apparent reason. The 1985 events wouldn’t relate to what was going on in the past. The events of 1985 didn’t shed light on the events of the past. There was absolutely no point in the jumping around in time. None.

And then, near the end of the book, just when you think it’s finally almost over... we take up a completely new story. This time, it’s about Derek Lasalle, with all these random, completely irrelevant details about his long meandering journey to South Dakota.

Lessons from this book: 1) don’t hate the cast of characters you’re writing about, it shows. 2) don’t jump back and forth in time unless it is specifically relevant or helps move the story forward. 3) don’t throw in a completely new storyline at the very end with unimportant details no one cares about.

This is another book I’m grateful to be done with.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the real life story of John Goldmark, a Washington politician during the 1950's. I enjoyed the story but felt there was maybe an unbalance between the present and past stories. The two stories did come together nicely at the end. Definitely an interesting read.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my review in the next issue of the Historical Novels Review.

[Cindy Westerhof · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disjointed story that doesn't flow and seems to be cobbled together at the end.

[Lindsey Wray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did enjoy reading about an era I usually don't read about (red scare in America) but the two story lines were not well connected enough. It felt so random at the end

[Wmba Dams · Rating 1 out of 5]

A news item that might make a short story stretched into a 'novel' that is one humongous nothingburger.

This stinker has way too much description and no plot at all.

Just when I thought I knew all the ways to write a zero star novel I ran into yet another one.

Pros: Absolutely none.

Cons: Where do I start with them ?????

Book poorly manufactured. But that was only a harbinger of the crappy content.

Blurbs on the cover were for different books.
Cause nobody could say anything nice about this POS?

Very bad use of flashbacks. Some were marked. Some left you confused.
None of them did anything useful for the story.

Many details were not realistic.
Way too many continuity errors.
Used too many coincidences with too much serendipity plus too much dumb luck.

Way too many minor characters making it hard to follow the few characters that mattered.

Nothing happened until 2/3 way through the book. Then the ending was like it came from a scifi plotting sheet. And the actual end was BLAH! to the MAX!!

Contained factual errors as well as contradictions. Characters were unrealistic with their actions in too many scenes.

Too many hops down some side rabbit trail that just ended and left you wondering why it was there at all. Too many false starts with dead ends that were meaningless.

Way too many macguffins left on the wall.

Way too much telling and little showing.
Slower than m o l a s s e s

When: Time from WW2 to 1980s. Mostly 50s 60s 70s and some 83.
Where: Midwest USA
What: Somebody got killed
Why: Politics?
Who: NYC lawyer who moved to midwest and his family. Plus locals.
How: Pistol in the Living Room by a DeM character from way past left field.
How Much: Way too long for the actual boring content.
Genre: A big slice of life that will make a bigger stinkier blob in the loo.
Writing: Advanced amateur
POV 3rd omni

If you like watching wheat grow or paint dry then this book is for you.
It is even slower and more useless than most BBC series. Maybe all.

[Marvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the problems with reading a Sebastian Barry novel is that whatever I read after it seems amateurish in comparison, though I suspect that this one might have seemed so anyway. In 1950 Cal, a young New York City lawyer and his wife, Betsy, leave everything behind and pack up their two young children to resettle on a cattle ranch near Rapid City, South Dakota. After they get settled in and establish themselves financially and socially as well-liked young couple, even if they are outsiders--and liberal Democrats, to boot--enters politics, eventually running for a U.S. Senate seat. When the locals learn that Betsy was briefly a member of the Communist Party, all hell breaks loose. It’s a long, slow slog to get to that point. The author tries to liven it up by beginning and ending and occasionally interrupting the main story with allusions to the murder, 30 years later, of Cal and Betsy’s son and his wife and daughter, but that story turns out in the end to be only loosely related to the main one. And, even though an author’s note at the end says that this is inspired by real people and events, much of it is implausible, not least that a New York City couple, with no relevant experience, could make a go of it on a cattle ranch, especially since neither works at it full time and they don’t hire any outside help. And the author apparently doesn’t realize that witnesses in a civil trial are cross examined by opposing counsel. And other minor things. . . . Most damning, in contrast to the rich, complex emotional lives and motivations of characters in a Sebastian Barry novel, everything here is simple and superficial. I mostly reserve one-star ratings for books that I don't finish. This did have some things going for it that led me to finish it, but in the end I don't really consider it "ok," the GoodReads criterion for two stars.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has a strong beginning with Jo Kusek rushing from Portland, Oregon to a hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota to be with her brother and nephew after they are savagely attacked in their home on Christmas Day. The story alternates between the present day and the lives of Jo's parents, Cal and Betsy Kusek, who moved from New York to South Dakota in the 1950's. Cal and Betsy learn to run a ranch and become prominent members of the community. However, this is the era of McCarthyism and Betsy's past comes back to haunt her.

I really liked Cal and Betsy, and was drawn into their story immediately. The author was able to balance descriptions of Cal and Betsy's life with the suspense of what happened to cause their son, Lance, to be attacked. I was a small child in the Midwest during the same time period as this book and recall when a missile silo was built near my small town. Although I don't recall what the adults in my town thought, I'm sure their reactions were similar to those of the characters in the ranching community in this book.

I was prepared to give the book four stars until the ending. It felt rushed and nearly anticlimactic. Since I enjoyed most of the book, I am going to seek out more of April Smith's novels.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for my honest review.

[Dan Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who think we live in unique times, with unique problems; those who were enthralled seeing Mr. Trump rise to the Presidency and come crashing down amid lies and false claims and insurrection; for those who think similar thoughts but do not want to closely read history from the decades of the 20th century; those people might find illumination and delight here. Ms. Smith wrote this, apparently, in 2015-16, since it found printer's ink in 2017. Therefore she wrote her scenes of terror, hysteria, fear and prejudice without Trumpian inspiration. Yet the tone is pitch-perfect, as it should be since she had piles of documentation from Communists, Fascists, McCarthyism, crazed FBI reports, KKK meetings and other pools of radical right-wing 'thought'. The scenes where the Red-baiters spread gossip and make hateful speeches should resonate with great delight among followers of those who spurn the saving grace of vaccines or the preventive bliss of face masks. This book is for you folks: read and thrill.

Ms. Smith's story is inspired by events from nearby her South Dakota, events which are part of our more sordid history. She writes vibrant characters, gives us a valiant and honorable story, and in her own way shows us where the real-world horror lies in the minds of violent, stupid, pitiable creatures.

As family sagas go,
Recommended.

[Lynn Ph.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

For whatever the reason be it me or the authors writing style at the beginning of the book, it took me a bit to really get into it and I almost stopped reading but I didn't and I'm glad I didn't because it got to be much more riveting and except for the ending which I felt was a bit not contrived I'm not sure what it is but when you bring a character in at the very end of a book and it becomes a critical character = not my style of writing [or liking it when I read] as it jars me.

That said, a lot of the book reminded me of things I lived through. I was a teenager during the McCarthy hearings, I had neighbors who were John Birchers, I was prayed for when I went to college because my neighbors thought I would turn into a communist. All from going to a New York City public college :(

And sadly a lot of this book resonates with the world we live in today and I hope people read this and see that this kind of fervent anti-something destroys lives, destroys property, destroys ideas, and can lead to senseless murders.

[Pammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love it when a book I've randomly chosen ties in with a subject just recently discussed on NPR, a magazine, or a previous book! In this case, the subject is America's Heartland, caught up in the panic of McCarthyism in the 1950's.
It starts in the post-depression struggles for workers rights and political unrest. Add a sweet love story (boy-meets- girl and BAM). This couple & children end up in South Dakota as part of their search for relief from the chaos of big city life (NYC). He's a WW II pilot turned lawyer who embraces ranch life. His wife, the once and briefly socialist/communist leaning young thing turned mother and public health nurse loves the challenges of ranching in South Dakota!
The author takes us through their years within the local community, raising kids, running for office as Republicans in a region thick with Democrats, etc. And then the drama and atrocities of the hate campaign from McCarthy fanatics hits the fan in S.D.
Add some crop failures, drought, and even murder.
I'll be looking for other books by April Smith!

[Lisa Mcbroom · Rating 4 out of 5]

April Smith has combined my favorite genres in one novel... crime and murder, books set in the Mad Men era, family drama and coming of age. The novel starts in 1985 where Jo Kusek's brother Lance , his wife Wendy and their son Willie are brutally attacked. Jo flies from Seattle to South Dakota(her hometown) to await the news. Whilst there, she runs into her high school boyfriend Willie Fletcher and starts to remember the past. In the 1950's Cal his wife Betsy and their children Jo and Lance moved from NYC to South Dakota to leave off the land. While there Cal runs for the Senate and unfortunately a dalliance with communism that Betsy had in the past surfaces. The family is ostrazized and Cal loses the seat. While were after all this time were Lance and his family attacked? Does it have anything to do with the Kusek family's life in the 1950s?

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story alternates between the present day and the lives of Jo's parents, Cal and Betsy Kusek, who moved from New York to South Dakota in the 1950's. Cal and Betsy learn to run a ranch and become prominent members of the community. The family tries their best to fit in with the mostly Republican community despite being strong Democrats. Things change when Cal runs for the U.S. Senate. The FBI investigates Betsy, as when she was in New York, had a youthful dalliance with the Communist Party which surfaces to haunt the Kuseks. Driven by fear and hate, their neighbors turn, condemning them as enemies and spies. This was based on a true story though the location was moved and the characters invented.

[Sherilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book.

The author did an excellent job describing life especially ranching in a small insulated community in western South Dakota. I also enjoyed her descriptions of the community and their reliance on each other.

I found the story and plot a little off putting. It moved slowly for the first 2/3s of the book. Life in a highly conservative community and the impact of McCarthyism was perhaps overly developed. On the other hand it described a period in western history little known and understood.

Those interested in the impact of Mccarthyism on rural America would find this book interesting.

[Peggy Sinden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites, the 50s, McCarthy and his attacks on the red communists infiltrating America, the strong being able to influence the weak over little to nothing facts that follow them into the 80s. When a New York couple move to South Dakota seeking a better place to raise their young family; but its not the easy task. They left everything behind hoping to make a clean break from the city to the country. They did not anticipate that natural threats facing them could be affected by Man-made threats too. They struggle but were haunted for decades to come. A good read but one that you might wish a different outcome. Something to think about.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would be happy to read another book by this author. She writes well and economically. In some parts, she takes the time to describe some unique place or event (cooperative calf branding, the healthy prairie, the sick prairie, breakfast at the cattle auction barn, the view from the top of a pine). In others, though, she outlines events expeditiously in order to focus on the nut of the story.

What astonished me at the end was that the story is closely based on a real event. Unfortunately, the national mood in the '40s, '50s, and '80s (in particular) "rhymes" with current events. That caught my attention too.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm torn about this novel. I loved the story of the Kuseks and their ranch as well as the problems of dealing with McCarthyism. I was intrigued by the murder mystery which ultimately, to my mind, failed. I've thought a lot about it since finishing this book and while I believe I understand Smith's point, I'm not sure it was necessary. I also thought the epilogue was just unnecessary. Loved the writing, loved most of the plot, and have recommended this to a friend. I'll read Smith's next book as eagerly, largely because I like her style and the way her plots work.

[Jan Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this novel set in South Dakota in the 1950's. Based on a true story about a East Coast family who moves to SD to start a new life as cattle ranchers during the height of the McCarthy era. Their liberal views made them victims of a local smear that cost the husband a rising political career. In a groundbreaking trial he sued his attackers and won.
There is so much to this story that begins with their move. I fell in love with the descriptions of SD and the characters. I felt like they were family and feel lucky to have stumbled on this fine novel.