I definitely like books that are set in the south! This book actually answered a question that I have always had: WHY do people continue to live (stay and rebuild) in hurricane zones?? I thought the author did a good job explaining that. It is just not that easy to "pick up and move" when you love a place and consider it your home.
I, also, was worried about Julie and Trey being related. So glad they weren't. I also thought, initially, that Monica was actually Julie's sister, Chelsea. I had abductions/kidnappings on my mind. :) I realized that it couldn't be though when I started reading about Monica's family history.
I liked both Gary and Wes. Obviously, Julie loved both of them but only Wes in a romantic way. Even though the three of them knew this, I still felt bad for Gary. He must have really loved Julie and Wes to still want to marry Julie knowing that they loved each other more than him. To me, this story-line was the most predictable one of the book - you know that Gary is going to die and Julie would end up with Wes.
I also figured that Caroline killed Aimee's mother, but I had no idea why - and I was certainly depressed that Wes had killed Caroline. :( I was hoping that Mr. Guidry had done it because he seemed like a jerk.
I had hoped that the story would have explained more why Johnny got off on the wrong path in life. How did he end up a drunk? Aimee and Wes loved him unconditionally - and he grew up with them from birth - so what went wrong?
The one problem I had with the story is that I kept getting the "mothers" mixed up! We hear about Aimee's mother, Monica's mother, Julie's mother, Wes & Gary's mother, Johnny's mother.... and each of them had "tragic stories"; then, with the change in perspective in time and narrator, I had to really think about whose mother was murdered, who left, who died and why, who abandoned their child, and who was simply unhinged. ;)
All said and done though, I really liked the book and yes, I would definitely read another Karen White novel. I believe that the past influences the present and future - and how we live our lives - and this book really spells that out. A person can live in the past, or accept the past and move on. And yes, the truth always surfaces in one way or another! People DO lie - or omit telling the truth - to spare the people they love pain, but I have never figured out if this is the right thing to do! "Cover-ups" lead to pain; truth can lead to pain. Either way, I guess it's how we lead our lives, however painful they may be, is what counts in the end. We live with ourselves and our decisions.
Wendy's Rating: ****
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