I believe I put this book on my wish list to support ECW Press. Then I accidentally bought it. I am so glad I did though. It is a well written well paced book.

The novel has many mysteries to solve and while it does in an engaging way, it also does it in a realistic way. Ms. Higdon actually reveals a mystery without fake suspense and build ( answers come in the story when they should). As a reader, I acknowledged it, was surprised the answer came and then saw more book to read.

Ms. Higdon tells this story that lasts for 40 years without a lot of exposition. The action are immediate and the characters are engaging. The secondary characters are not necessarily well explained, but I could tell that they were fleshed out and the author showed only what she had to show.

I definitely rooted for these characters they will live on in my mind. Even at the end of the book, the author is revealing the actions and motivations of the characters that I didn’t even consider. ( )

This book was an unexpected delight. It was published in 2018 but I didn't take note of it then. In 2020 one of the people who posts about Canadian literature on LibraryThing recommended it. I have just now read it and I agree with that reviewer that it was a wonderful book. It's a mystery to me why it didn't get more attention when it was published. I'm glad to have finally read it and I'll be recommending it to others.

Bette Parsons, an English war bride, who left England young and pregnant to go to live 10,000 miles away in British Columbia, has finally had it with living in a tar paper shack with her husband and five children. On a morning in 1967 she leaves a note on the kitchen table and disappears. Her only daughter, Lulu, discovers the note and hides it. Confounding Bette's disappearance is the disappearance of another Fraser Arm housewife, Alice McFee. Searches for both women turn up nothing. Bette's younger sister, Kat, comes over from England to help look after the children and stays. She plays the violin and soon Lulu learns to play from her. Lulu turns out to be a gifted musician but before she grows up she has a tumultuous childhood. Mr. McFee, husband of the disappeared Alice, introduces her to theft and drugs and drinking. He also sexually molests her but, like many young people with abusers, Lulu thinks he is her friend. Only one other person seems to notice that Lulu's relationship with Mr. McFee is inappropriate and that is Doris Tenpenny, the mute neighbourhood egg seller. She notices Lulu getting into Mr. McFee's car and believes that he is sexually touching (or worse) Lulu because he did it with her in the basement of her father's church. She doesn't know what to do about it though and so she does nothing. Doris has her own secret life. When Lewis Cray, the high school librarian, comes to buy eggs from her he also brings her a book. Over five years they have read one hundred books. It has illuminated her life. One of the books has made a tremendous impact on her: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. (The title of this book comes from Silent Spring.) Years later, after Lulu has long left Fraser Arm, Mr. McFee disappears (perhaps commits suicide) and leaves his house jointly to Lulu and Doris. Doris happily moves in and sets about restoring the grounds, establishing a thriving gardening and chicken and goat business. Lulu refuses to move in but Doris keeps a room upstairs in the house for her. Meanwhile a diverse group of friends and family gather in the old house and make it their home. Many years later Lulu meets up with her brother Trevor in Vancouver and goes for a motorcycle ride with him. A crash kills Trevor and severely injures Lulu causing her to recuperate in Fraser Arm. New discoveries call into question whether Mrs. McFee and Bette Parsons disappeared. They may have been killed. Lulu is dealing with that possibility, her physical limitations and her own secrets but Doris and her family and others in Fraser Arm help her reach an equilibrium that she has never felt before.

The chapters of this book alternate between telling Lulu's story and that of Doris. The interesting thing is that Lulu's is in the first person but Doris's uses the third person voice. I was about halfway through the book before I realized this but then I'm not particularly attuned to literary nuances. I thought this worked well but I would be interested to know what caused Higdon to write it this way. I really hope she comes out with another novel; on her website she says she is working on one. ( )

Loved it. 100% loved it.

This is the story, spanning five decades, centered on Lulu Parsons and Doris Tenpenny. When Lula is ten years old, her mother and a neighbour's wife disappear from their small town on the same day. Lulu discovers something right away, but never tells. Doris cannot speak, so receives the secrets of many of the town's residents who buy eggs from her. But not even she knows. This is the story of the impact of secrets -- big and small -- on families. Great characters, breath-catching moments. I've recommended it to many friends already. ( )

The author is a great storyteller. ( )

Loved it! ( )