The Sound of Glass
by Karen White
Why did you choose this book? Loved the cover!
When did you read this book? April 2015
Who should read this book? reader’s of women’s fiction who enjoy a mystery
Source: Penguin First To Read
Sometimes, it's the deepest secrets that force us to face our fears and find the healing we need.
The New York Times bestselling author of A Long Time Gone now explores a Southern family’s buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret.
It has been two years since the death of Merritt Heyward’s husband, Cal, when she receives unexpected news—Cal’s family home in Beaufort, South Carolina, bequeathed by Cal’s reclusive grandmother, now belongs to Merritt.
Charting the course of an uncertain life—and feeling guilt from her husband’s tragic death—Merritt travels from her home in Maine to Beaufort, where the secrets of Cal’s unspoken-of past reside among the pluff mud and jasmine of the ancestral Heyward home on the Bluff. This unknown legacy, now Merritt’s, will change and define her as she navigates her new life—a new life complicated by the arrival of her too young stepmother and ten-year-old half-brother.
Soon, in this house of strangers, Merritt is forced into unraveling the Heyward family past as she faces her own fears and finds the healing she needs in the salt air of the Low Country.
My Review
I picked this one up because I liked the pretty cover. I love the soft blues and greens. But I really was apprehensive about reviewing this one because I’d never read Karen White before. While sometimes I enjoy a fluffy romance, I have to be in the right mood for it. I usually prefer a little more substance to a book. I am very happy to say that I was completely mistaken about Karen White. This book had plenty of substance to it, and will leave you thinking about it for days. This will be a great pick for book clubs!
The book is starts with a horrible plane crash in Beaufort, South Carolina. No one really knows what caused the plane to crash. This was back in the 1950s before black boxes were common. So we start out with an intriguing mystery. There is also a recurring theme in this book of domestic abuse. And of course, just to make this fun, there is a bit of romance!
The story is told from alternating points of view. Merritt is a young woman who was raised in Maine, and who lost her mother when she was still a child. She has also recently lost her husband, and and has inherited his grandmother’s house in South Carolina. Loralee is Merritt’s young, attractive step-mother, who has also recently lost her husband, Merritt’s father. Loralee has a ten year old son, Merritt’s half-brother, whom Merritt has never met. Loralee decides it is high time they did meet, and takes off for South Carolina, seemingly on a whim. I loved the character of Loralee. She is smart, and not afraid to be pretty, too! I love her southern mannerisms and phrasings. She was so much fun to be around!
This is one of those books that I lost sleep over, reading late into the night, and when I was done, I was left with ‘book hangover’! This will make a great book club selection with topics of domestic violence, step-parenting, grief, and many others. I haven’t yet found a reader’s guide, but I’m sure there will be one out soon. You won’t really need it though. Your discussions should flow very easily from the story! Enjoy!
Visit the author's website to read an excerpt or to learn more about The Sound of Glass. You can view a book trailer of Karen White discussing her book below.
My Rating: ★★★★1/2 4-1/2 Stars
I received an advanced review copy of this book through the Penguin First To Read program in return for an honest review.
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