A well plotted family mystery

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I kept thinking about this book for a few days after I finished it which I think is always a good sign. This is a well plotted family drama story with a mystery at the centre which is the kind of story I often love.

Told through two timelines, we follow Caro in 1949 who has moved with her husband Alasdair and baby daughter to Alasdair's family estate, Kelly Castle in remote Scotland to live with her mother-in-law Martha. Here she learns of the mystery of Alasdair's great grandmother whose identity is unknown. We also have chapters which flashback to the late 19th Century following Alasdair's great grandfather Oliver and his travels as far as the Arctic circle. The two timelines are handled really well in slowly revealing the family history and secrets of the past. I enjoyed both parts of the narrative and the parallel themes that ran through them.

One theme I liked the most was the exploration of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships across the two timelines. I don't think I have read a book before that developed and examined the dynamics and conflicts in that kind of relationship as well as in this book.

Overall I found this a really gripping book that I didn't want to put down and would highly recommend it if you like family dramas with a twist.

Thank you to Readers First for the copy of this book.