Beth has moved back into the house she grew up in, in the small town of Allen’s Grove, Wisconsin, to take care of her mother in the final months of her life. When the hospice nurse tells Beth the end is very near, she reaches out to her estranged siblings, Nicole and Michael, to see if they can make it home in time.
Their family has been in pieces since their father disappeared seven years ago. He left a note and was never heard from again, although his truck was found abandoned. Yet in the moments before Beth’s mother died, she said to Beth, “Your father. He didn’t disappear. Don’t trust…”
Needless to say, Beth doesn’t know what to make of this cryptic statement. But when Michael and Nicole get home, there are too many old resentments and hurts to hash over. Yet as they go through all of the things in the house, they find a box full of videotapes. Watching one fills all of them with nostalgia and grief—until they discover some disturbing footage tacked on at the end of one tape.
What they watch shakes them to their very core and leaves them wondering who their parents really were. Was everything after that night in 1999 all a lie? Did this have any connection to their father’s disappearance?
Jeneva Rose is such a fantastic storyteller. The narrative shifts between the siblings as well as their mother’s recollections from the past. At the same time, there are resentments to be dealt with: Michael’s being treated better than either of his sisters, Beth’s martyrdom, and Nicole’s addiction.
This kept me turning the pages furiously until I was done. I had my suspicions about what happened (and I was mostly right) but that didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the book!
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