Prayers and Lies

by Sherri Wood Emmons

When seven-year-old Bethany meets her six-year-old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone-deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, keep them coming back.

But as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought. . .that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teem with scandalous whispers. . .and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever.

Spanning four decades, Sherri Wood Emmons' debut is a haunting, captivating novel about the unexpected, sometimes shocking events that thrust us into adulthood--and the connections that keep us tethered, always, to our pasts.


Advance praise for Sherri Wood Emmons and Prayers and Lies


"From the first sentence, the voice of the narrator, Bethany, rings true and never falters. By the end of the book, I cared for every aunt and cousin, mother and sister, even the most troubled and dangerous. Prayers and Lies is the story of a family that knows how to love and forgive and get on with life." --Drusilla Campbell, author of The Good Sister

"Through the careful rendering of this dysfunctional family, Emmons makes us fall in love with Bethany Wylie, the young girl at the heart of this story, as well as her wayward cousin, Reana Mae. The evolution of their friendship--the way they grow together and grow apart--is heart-breaking." --T. Greenwood, author of Two Rivers


"Prepare to stay up all night reading! Sherri Wood Emmons perfectly captures the devastating impact of family secrets in her beautifully written--and ultimately hopeful--debut novel. With its evocative setting and realistically crafted characters, Prayers and Lies is a must read for fans of rich family drama." --Diane Chamberlain, author of The Lies We Told


"A sweet, revealing tale of family, friendship, long-held secrets and includes the all-important ingredients of forgiveness and love." --Kris Radish, author of The Shortest Distance Between Two Women

"I loved it." --Cathy Lamb, author of Such A Pretty Face




The Kiss




We always knew when Bobby Lee came home. Folks up and
down the Coal River Valley heard the roar of his motorcycle
on the gravel road long before he tore around the final bend, turning
so sharp he lay nearly sideways on the ground. Sometimes he'd
be gone weeks at a time, sometimes just a few days. But his homecoming
never changed.




He rode into the valley like a conquering hero. And Jolene, his
wife, would come flying out of their shabby cabin, long red hair
streaming behind her, just as Bobby Lee pulled into their little dirt
yard. He'd be off the huge bike in a flash as she ran down the two
broken and patched steps and into his arms. And then there would
be the kiss--scandalous for that rural West Virginia community in
the 1960s. We children would stand on our own porches or in the
road, gaping at the two of them, our mouths and eyes wide.




Usually, Reana Mae was waiting on the porch, too, but Bobby
Lee didn't notice her right off. His wife was such a whirlwind of
red curls and short skirts and hunger that their daughter--thin,
freckled, and silent--went unnoticed. After the kiss would come
gifts, if his haul had been a long one. Sometimes, Bobby Lee drove
his rig all the way from Charleston to California, and he brought
Jolene and Reana presents from places like Los Angeles and Las
Vegas. Usually a toy or coloring book for Reana. For Jolene, he
brought clothes--shocking clothes. Like the halter top and hot
pants he brought from San Francisco. Or the lime green minidress
from Chicago. Jolene strutted around like a peacock in them, while
the rest of the valley folk shook their heads and whispered to one
another over their fences and laundry lines. Jolene was the first
woman in the valley to go braless, her round, full breasts barely
contained beneath the tight T-shirts and sweaters she wore.




After the gifts and the hellos and the "What's happenin' in the
world?" talk, Jolene would send Reana Mae off to her greatgrandma's,
then disappear into the house with her husband for the
rest of the afternoon. Sometimes, Reana spent the night at her
Grandma Loreen's before Jolene remembered to come for her.
Loreen would make up Jolene's old room, and she'd fry pork chops
and boil potatoes with green beans and bacon fat like Reana
wanted, and she'd sing her the lullaby she used to sing to her own
babies. And so, on those days, Reana Mae got cherished a litt...

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Drama, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Family, Abuse

312 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Sherri Wood Emmons is a freelance writer and editor. Prayers and Lies is her first work of fiction. She is a graduate of Earlham College and the University of Denver Publishing Institute. A mother of three, she lives in Indiana with her husband, two fat beagles, and four spoiled cats.

Reviews

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that feeling that you get when you first start reading a book and you quickly fall in love with the main character? You hang on to their every word and feel the same emotions that they are feeling? That's how it was between me and Bethany Wylie. Bethany and her parents and her three sisters spent every summer on the Coal River in West Virginia. Her parents were born and raised there, so they had numerous aunts, uncles and cousins to visit with. Bethany formed a special bond with one of her cousins when she was seven years old. Reana Mae was six, and they became sisters and soul mates. What transpires over the next decade between the two of them ranges from poetic to painful...unimaginable and unbelievable. They almost become enemies. Their friendship bond struggles to hold strong, as well as their families struggle to remain in control, and keep things together.
I was in Wendy's yesterday, eating a salad while reading this book, and my mouth literally dropped open during one chapter. I lost a little lettuce and blue cheese, but I tell you, it was well worth it.
Prayers and Lies made me laugh, cry, and yearn to crawl into the pages to be with Bethany and Reana Mae, to hug them and tell them that everything will be okay.
Sherri Wood Emmons has written a beautiful coming - of - age novel that has now earned a spot in my favorite Top Ten Reads ever. I certainly hope that she is working on her next novel...I'll be waiting for it~

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was wonderfully written, and really had me in an emotional tirade about the characters: I was rooting for some, disgusted at some, and by the end, I came to understand.

I had two problems with this book, and that's why I down rated it:
1) There were too many names thrown at me right in the beginning, so many that I had to go back and reread the first few chapters after I was some way into the novel, so I could get everything straight in my head. Same with at the end, when everything was explained, there were just too many names in one place.

2) The ending (epilogue) was too quick - it just happened in about two pages, and only a few things were explained. I would have liked to know how things were after Tracy died, how her family coped, and maybe more about Brian and Bethy's relationship - not just how they got married some years later. I also feel like Renea Mae's ending was wrapped up too neatly. Whether her hand in Tracy's death had such an impact on her that she changed right there, or if it took a while - I was interested. I wanted to know how she met her husband, if she wanted kids of her own, how the news of "bad blood" affected her.

So maybe a lot of the last one was just me being a pest - I wanted to know more about these characters, because in this 300 page novel, I got to know them, and I wanted to know everything I could.

This is definitely a book I would recommend for anyone.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Mother had a saying: ‘You don’t hang underwear on the outside line’ And our secrets stayed neatly cloistered within the family, where they belonged. That was our way for a long time, until we couldn’t hide them anymore.”

This book isn’t going to do anything to help combat Appalachian stereotypes, but there’s no denying the addictive quality of this Southern family drama.

Bethany Wylie and her family always vacation in West Virginia’s Coal Valley mountain to see her father’s relatives. Her mother and three sisters don’t like going down there, but to Bethany, these mountains are her home away from home. Especially since her cousin Reana Mae lives there, so she has a constant playmate.

”All my life I had three sisters- three strangers I lived with but never really knew. Sitting in the mud on that muggy day, I found my real sister. Reana and I were connected in a way I’ve never been with anyone else. Her story and mine got so tangled up together, sometimes it felt like I was just watching from the outside, like she was the one living. Sometimes, I hated her for that. But mostly, I loved her.”

Their deep, abiding love for one another keeps the Wylies coming back time and time again, even though they would rather forget. But deep within the mountains and valleys of their little hollow, secrets that are meant to be buried start coming to the surface over the years, and burrowing themselves in the Wylie family until they threaten to spill over.

I’m not gonna lie; I’m a total sucker for anything Southern or related to Appalachia. I guess because the town I’m from has a lot of people who moved from the Midwest/South/Appalachia back in the 1930s when the Dust Bowl and Great Depression hit. But I love the landscape, the culture, and the abiding sense of familial pride that comes with the territory. Bethany is the only one in her family that feels a sense of belonging in those hills, and the way she describes it will have you feeling right at home beside her as well

”There was so much life in that valley. Babies were born and old folks died in those houses by the river. Our own cottage had seen weddings and births and even a death or two. The red-checked curtains in the bedroom I shared with Tracy were hand-sewn by my Grandmother Araminta when she was young and newly widowed. The sagging porch out back was where Joe Colvin first kissed my Great-Aunt Arathena. The weathered picnic table in the kitchen had groaned under more Thanksgiving turkeys than I will ever eat. It was my family’s place, even if they didn’t seem to know it. It was home.”

As her boyfriend stated to her once, her family is so interesting. They’re completely dysfunctional and cuckoo, but from reading you can tell the fierce bond they have with one another.

And let me tell you something; serious shit goes down here. As I said in the beginning, this book isn’t going to win any awards when it comes to Appalachian hillbilly stereotypes. Because this book pretty much contains every single one of them. From the white trash angle to the ‘cousin-cest’, to the hard drinking to the religious fervor that seems to grip even the most unardent of believers, it’s all there.

”Valley folk took their religion tempered with a hard dose of pragmatism. If rother Harley spent more time than was absolutely seemly with Arabella Lee… well, look at his wife, after all. If the mining men drank too much beer or even whiskey on Saturday night… well, didn’t they earn that privilege, working underground six days a week? If Reana Mae had been born only six months after Bobby Lee and Jolene got married… well, at least they made it legal in time.”

I really don’t think anyone from that area would be particularly thrilled as they read it, but damn does the author know how to write descriptions well.

But at the heart of the story is the women and the bonds between them and their families.

”The Bible says that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons of the seventh generation. But I believe it’s the daughters who bear the brunt of most family sins. At least that’s so in my family.”

Bethany and Reana Mae are cousins and best friends, with them being both completely different but also frighteningly alike. How their families, though not even living in the same states and seeing each other sporadically, We see the transformation of Reana Mae from a forgotten, quiet child to a beautiful but etherally violent tweenager she becomes. And we see Bethany come to realize that, as they get older, the Reana Mae she knows from her childhood will be long gone before she ever finds a solution. Throughout it all, they and their mothers bear the brunt of the family drama with as much grace as they can possibly muster. I loved their friendship; however, I am hesitant to understand why the author chose to label Bethany an outcast. She didn’t seem to be all that outside of the social circle, with friends and a boyfriend and a core group of supporters. So in that sense, I do think the author didn’t develop that side of the character that she wanted to.

However, the star of the show is Bethany’s sister Tracy, the most tragic character in the entire story (and that’s saying something, considering how many colorful cuckoo’s there are). From the very beginning, you know something’s not right with her. And as the novel gradually progresses, she becomes even more volatile and prone to violent emotional outbursts and mood swings. And much like Tracy herself, you’ll find your feelings toward her swinging like a pendalum; one minute you’ll hate her, the next minute you’ll feel like there’s nothing wrong about her. But I think the most powerful emotion of all you’ll feel is pity. Pity for how much potential there is inside of her, but how wasted it will become due to her mental illness (the author never explicitly states, but it’s most likely bipolar). And since her mental illness wasn’t even known at the time, and treatments weren’t available, she is a character that is doomed to fail.

Despite the fact that these characters are put through the wringer and have more downs than ups in their lives, you won’t be able to not care about them. The characters are so colorful, vibrant, and unapologetically themselves that it’s impossible not to become invested in their story. The author pulls you into her depraved but starkly beautiful world in the Appalachian hills, and not letting go until the explosive but devastating finale.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An appropriate thought-provoking title for this book about acceptance and forgiveness: a remarkable story of love, friendship, being a teenager, the compelling need to be wanted and needed, lies, secrets, and the dichotomy of pain and joy. Bethany and her cousin Reana Mae draw you in to their lives: growing up in the Coal River valley of West Virginia. When Bethany begins to realize familial dark secrets, her world begins to change and she wrestles with integrity, loyalty, and devotion. Bethany, who lives in Indiana, spends every summer with her family at their cottage in West Virginia. There she enjoys the lazy lifestyle with her cousin Reana Mae. In the winters, they write back and forth sharing the angst of adolescence. But one summer, things are altered and difficult for her to understand. Even though her heart tells her not to, she swears to keep a secret that begins to unravel many different lives. Tracey, her older sister taunts and torments them both in cruel and at times surprisingly ways.
Life is honestly portrayed in this book; at times poignant and other times heartbreaking. I found this read enthralling and it stayed with me long after I finished the last page.
Although for adults, high school students will easily relate and enjoy this haunting story.

[Pamela Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a native West Virginian, I was very anxious to read this book. After completion, I have mixed emotions. I became pulled in by the story-line and loved the sweet-natured narrator. I thought Ms. Emmons was quite proficient in character development. She had me gritting my teeth while reading about Tracy's hatefulness and feeling as though my heart would break every time Reana Mae was mistreated...which unfortunately was often. The characters' Southern West Virginia dialect was spot-on.

The content was extremely difficult at times. I felt her sex scenes were overly explicit. She could have roused the same emotions in the reader with less blatant depiction. Sometimes innuendo works better than an abrupt dose of ugly reality.

I was frustrated with the increasingly vile language. I understand the implication was that Reana Mae grew up to be a rough young woman, but occasional usage would have sufficed. I believe authors and film makers today misjudge our desire to hear/read unsavory language. A little bit of it goes a long way.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book captivated me....almost like a car wreck though as the plot and characters were emotionally raw. There was no sugar-coating what was happening in their lives. I thought the book was extremely well written and developed to the point that it amazes me this was a first time author. My complaints - I needed a geneology chart to remember who was related to who and how. I also was very upset that the abuses were accepted by the families and characterized as normal to a degree. Why wasn't anyone punished? Disturbing how the sexual abuse of a minor was considered a relationship! The "bad blood" psychological issues were well written, especially in the character of Tracey - you could feel this young women's torment in every rage episode and hate-filled speech. However, at some point I just wish the parents would have realized how Tracy also ruined everyone else's life and stepped in....denying or placating the behavior associated with a mental illness didn't seem to help anyone in the end. I also felt that the epilogue missed out on resolving the fates of Jolene and Caleb.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book by accident at my local library. Honestly what prompted me to check it out was that it was set mostly in West Virginia. I'm a sucker for anything nonfiction OR fiction that takes place in my state. What was the most unusual part about the find is that my library has a section devoted to anything that takes place in WV, both historically and fictionally. I found this on the opposite side of the library in the regular fiction section. I read the 'blurb' and saw that it was a WV setting and thought, "Why not". I'm so thrilled that I did. I read it in about 10 hours all together (spread out over 5 days or so). I can't wait to check it out again and will probably buy it the instant I find it for sell. I can't wait to read any other books by Emmons. Prayers and Lies is very thought provoking and moving. An absolute must read for any book lover no matter the genre you usually prefer.

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far, one of the best books I've read in quite awhile. The story takes place in West Virginia and is told in Bethany's POV. The setting is late 1960's-1970's, with the last chapter being 1982. It centers mostly on Bethany and her cousin Reana Mae. It's a story which revolves around a family and extended family, and the lies and secrets. It's equal parts sad, happy and infuriating.

I am so glad I finally picked this up and read it!

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this book. What an amazing tale. This book immediately became one of my favorites. I would highly recommend.

[Anne Crotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Bible says the sins of the father are visited upon the sons...But I believe it's the daughters who bear the brunt of most of the family sins. At least that's so in my family" So begins Sherri Wood Emmon's haunting novel about family secrets and salvation.
Bethany and Rena Mae are cousins. They spend every minute of Summer vacation together in the coal country of West Virginia. Bethany enjoys these summers away from her home in Indianapolis. It is during these summers that she gets a bit of a break from her four older sisters. She gets almost free reign of the little river town in West Virgina . Rena Mae is one year younger than Bethany. She looks up to her and enjoys being looked after by some one who loves her because her own mother is unfit and consumed with her failing marriage.
After being away from Rena Mae for a whole school year, Bethany comes back to find that she has changed. Rena Mae is more worldly and secretive than she was the past summer. Bethany feels this loss and spend her time trying to discover what has caused this drastic change in Rena Mae.
Bethany finds that diving into this mystery is like peeling an onion. There are layers and layers of family secrets under the surface. As Bethany peels away the layers she discovers not only rena Mae's awful secret...but the secrets that have been carried by her mother and her aunts and grandmother for years and years. Bethany sees first hand how lives can be destroyed by one lie that cracks the foundation of family bonds.
This book is full of some heavy themes...incest, mental illness, child abuse...But through it all Bethany and her family show the power of love and forgiveness. Once Bethany discovers her family's past she is able to look objectively and the women in her family and accept some of the choices that they made.
I gave this book 4 stars because it was a bit too heavy on characters in some points. I know that all of the family members in the story played a part in the family history...but it was hard to keep them all straight at some points. But as far as the story goes it was compelling. I found myself really liking Bethany and reading her story when I should have been doing other things like grading papers and folding laundry. I will miss Bethany but I am glad that she was able to come out of her situation in tact.

[Krystlesta · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Bethany meets her cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a friendship that will last forever. Every summer Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. These trips remind Bethany's mother of the coal mines and grinding poverty of her childhood. But because of their relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, they keep coming back. As Bethany grows older she learns that life in this small town isn't as simple as she once thought. The secrets of this little town are coming out and shattering lives, faith, and a bond Bethany thought she would always have. The quality of this book is great. Its not written in "modern talk". The author writes the book in the way that these people talked back then. Also each chapter seems to be just another short story that all seem to come together in the end. Everything in this story is so real. Some stories that are written you can tell that certain parts are made up, but not this story. The author makes you feel like you are there like you are living in that exact moment. The theme of this book to me is a coming of age book. It shows how Bethany grows up and acts in a totally different way than Reana Mae as she grows up. They grow up in two different lives and that effects them as a person a lot. Even though they were such great friends when they were younger they are so different now as they are older.

[Maggie61 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this first book of Sherri wood Emmons.
Bethany, one of four sisters is best friends with her wrong side of the tracks only child Reana Mae. The two are inseparable as children with Bethany's family spends summers at the cottage. Reana is more of a sister to her than Tracey her next oldest sister. Tracey is just mean and nasty and uses every opportunity to torment her sister and even more is Reana her target.
One summer, when Reana is 11, she is never to be found and Bethany finds that Reana has grown up much too soon and has left her behind. When everything comes to light Reana is sent to the real world Bethany is part of and being so different she struggles to belong.
This story was so gripping, emotional and sometimes shocking. While the reader can't help but have an extreme dislike for Tracey, it is hard to decide how much of her behaviour is her illness and how much it is just pure meanness. However much anyone dislikes her, you can't help but be sympathetic to her outcome.
It's a book about secrets and lies, forgiveness and acceptance. I have her second book and although it doesn't have the raving reviews of this one I am anxious to read it as well.

[Bon]

Ok - this book read so fast and the writing was so vivid that I stayed up late from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. this morning to finish it. Talk about haunting and beautiful and riveting all at the same time. What hooked me was the honesty of the narrator. Her fears, her misunderstadings of adults in her life, and her own challenges with the family members especially extended family. All families struggle and the truth is always beneath the surface and shielded from children, yet these very truths are the necessary pieces that children need to feel secure. Recommended - yes - a few plot holes at the end and ONE very BIG typo in a main section! When something important is being revealed about one of the male characters - the wrong name is there - I reread that paragraph four times - definetely missed by the editors and proof readers.:(

My question for the author is this: What happened to Caleb and Jolene (two very screwed up people that I hated in the book - no explantation to their demise - Did she kill him or not???)

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was wonderful...four stars because --- there were just to many relatives in the first couple chapters and again in the last couple chapters...I know they were part of the story, I just hate having to read family trees...I can never follow them and I always have to go back and re-read...but this was a wonderful story and I would recommend it to all...it kinda feels like "Me & Emma" but there is so much more to this one...it is soft and sweet while hard and harsh...if you liked "Me & Emma" you HAVE to read this one...so glad I did

[Gayle McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story w colorful characters and an intriguing premise. I listened to an Audible book and the narrator, Casey Holloway, read w the perfect accents.

Mispronunciations of wanly and Jim Croce’s last name were disappointing.

[Barbara Epperson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating might be a tad generous because this book's author lives in Indianapolis. The story kept my interest in spite of the extremely disturbing truths revealed in the telling.

[Jenny Schillinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book but seriously struggled with the age of Reana Mae. I'd find myself reading along and her age came back to me and I'd have a hard time wrapping my head around what was happening and how she talked and what she truly thought.

[Christy Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good crazy twists but such a good story

[Monica Shaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate a "so-so" book after just finishing Hoover, JT Ellison and Tayor Jenkins Reid.
But this one was good, lots of happenings, lots of secrets.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bethany and her cousin Reana Mae are soul sisters, inseparable during the summers when Bethany and her family stay at their cottage in West Virginia's Coal River Valley. As they grow up, Bethany realizes that not everything is as perfect as it seems, and every family has dark secrets. As these secrets come to light, Bethany's world is rocked, and she must decide how to react towards those she loves most.

This was a haunting story that I couldn't put down. The secrets and events that happen within this family were a rollercoaster that never seemed to stop. From the sad to the horrific, the family seemed to endure so many tragic events.

I thought the true meaning of family was explored as the characters showed themselves to be devoted to each other, even as their world crashed down around them. The family always seemed to rally together and help support each other, even if the actions didn't always seem to be the right course to take. It's hard to explain what actions I didn't agree with without giving the story though.

At times, Bethany seemed very young and innocent for her age, the exact opposite of Reana Mae. I thought this juxaposition was very realistic based on each of their upbringings, and found it to really highlight the difference a child's environment can have on their development.

As a sidenote, the cover of the book breaks my heart. The little girl looks so sad and innocent, but something about it tells you she knows things she shouldn't at that age. It really reflects the story well, but it makes me want to tear up everytime I look at it.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably because my mother's family arrived here pre 1700 and lived in cabins in the hills of the southern states and that my Grandma Effie Mae was such a prominent person in my childhood. She was born in the 1880s in southern Illinois and her tales of family, and she was a magnificent storyteller, of poverty and pride, of the spiritual and the spirits, of family legend and pride, instigated my lifelong fascination with genealogy and my love affair with Southern literature. My masters thesis was written about the whorehouse scene in Wm Faulkner's Sanctuary. And so, with that, I confess my love of Southern authors. And my respect for the troubled families they so often portrayed. I identified.
I have read Prayers and Lies every spare moment I found. I'd put this in the same category as Lee Smith's Oral History, a book I loved. This was MY perfect summer read. I loved the characters. They rang as true as the family in Grandma Effie Mae's stories.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellently told story. The writing is descriptive and compelling while the characters are multidimensional. The subject matter of incest seemed forced (not sure THAT was the most believable hardship for the character. The diary entries seemed as from another character the author was creating.) And the matter of mental illness was presented from an authentic and believable perspective..... until the very last sentence of the book.

[Pat Wogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book in the morning and couldn't put it down! Emmons is a great story teller. She made even her minor characters real. I fini,shed the book in one day because I had to know how it ended! Don't start this book on a day you have lots of chores to do. Well written, good story, believable characters, and well-described settings. I give it five stars

[Janet H. Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story line and the message the book was sending was good, but the language and sexually explicit scenes were more than I could take. I wouln't recommend it if you are bothered by that type of writing. It was difficult for me to finish the book

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great summer read. Everyone in this family is so screwed up. It is not a matter of if everything is going to hit the fan, it is more a matter of when. This story reminded me of why I don't have the urge to look that close at my family tree.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great page-turning novel about family secrets and innocence lost. Loved it.

[Diane Macaluso · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me awhile to figure out all the aunts, grandmas, uncles, cousins, etc., but finally just let the story pull me along! Didn't want to put it down!

[Mich · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG.. GREAT READ... run out and get it right now... oh so very worth it.. atleast it was for me!

[Lee Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating characters & intricate plot....reader keeps waiting for the "other shoe to drop". Not the happiest of tales....

[Apryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little confused at the beginning of this book but the storyline soon became clear and I couldn't wait to see what would happen to these characters. Very engaging !