Publisher's Weekly Review
At 30, Willa Jackson returns to her small Southern hometown, Walls of Water, N.C., in the wake of a failed marriage to her college sweetheart. She's determined now to lead the quiet life she believes her father wants her to have, but is soon derailed by the wealthy and powerful Osgoods, the family that shaped her high school experience. The Jacksons were also wealthy once, until the logging industry failed, and Willa's teenage grandmother went to work as a maid for the Osgoods. Paxton Osgood, Willa's counterpart, has everything Willa envies-wealth, beauty and a sense of belonging-but Paxton hides a deep loneliness and discontent. To further complicate Willa's unrest, Paxton's brother, Colin, fled town years before but has returned and become an irresistible force in Willa's life. When a skeleton that holds the secret to both the Osgood and Jackson family fortunes is discovered at the Jackson family's old estate, long-held beliefs are likely to be overturned. Allen (The Girl Who Chased the Moon) juggles smalltown history and mystical thriller, character development and eerie magical realism in a fine Southern gothic drama. The underlying tension will please and unnerve readers, as well as leave them eager for Allen's next. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
In the mountain resort town of Walls of Water, North Carolina, the Osgood and Jackson families' lives have always been tangled up in the history of the Blue Ridge Madam, a derelict Victorian home on the outskirts of town. Now, as president of the Women's Society Club, Paxton Osgood hopes to unveil the extensive renovations her family has underwritten at a gala celebrating the club's 75th anniversary. It would be nice if Willa Jackson, granddaughter of one of the club's founders, could be there, too. But Willa is too proud to accept the invitation, having struggled to overcome her teenage reputation as a devil-may-care prankster. Yet when a human skeleton is unearthed at the Madam just days before the party, Paxton and Willa join forces to identify the remains, a project that forges a surprising friendship and launches more than one love affair. In this delectable, read-in-one-sitting treasure, Allen once again demonstrates her astonishing ability to believably blur the lines between the magical and the mundane.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
The Jacksons were among the most influential families in Walls of Water, NC, until the mountain forests were declared a national park and the Jackson Logging Company went under. Georgie Jackson was 17 and pregnant when her family left town, but she stayed and became a maid in the house of her best friend, Agatha Osgood. Seventy-five years later, Georgie's granddaughter, Willa, watches while Paxton and Colin Osgood, Agatha's grandchildren, restore the old Jackson family home, the Blue Ridge Madam. Colin has always found Willa intriguing-her outward predictability covering an inner prankster-and working on the Madam gives him a way into Willa's life. But the Madam has been keeping secrets of her own. Will skeletons unearthed from the past ruin the present? Verdict Peppered with Allen's (Garden Spells; The Sugar Queen; The Girl Who Chased the Moon) trademark Southern charm and magical foretelling, this novel will keep readers turning the pages to see what happens. This author is sure to find a place in the hearts of most popular fiction readers; her latest is a must read for fans of Alice Hoffman. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/10; five-city tour; library marketing.]-Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.