I have read most of Sullivan’s books. While I thought the early books were terrific, the last few didn’t work for me at all. They felt forced. But now, she’s back!

Despite using all the devices that usually annoy me —pages of research on multiple historical, religious, and sociological legacies, multiple points of view, a plethora of issues— I was compelled by all of it. The complexity of what was happening was definitely in the hands of a masterful writer.

The main protagonist, Jane Flanagan, had a troubled childhood dominated by a single alcoholic mother, and a sister she doesn’t connect to. But she has seemingly risen above it to become an archivist at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard.

Residual behaviors, unacknowledged yet ever present, rear their ugly heads at a time when all should have been well. She engages in behavior that may cost her both her ascending career and marriage.

Jane returns to her coastal Maine resort town, Awadapquit. She finds herself far from the life she created, living once again in the cluttered house she grew up in. It’s a place without good memories that still holds anger, regret, and long simmering pain— fertile ground for self-destruction.

She has no idea how to move forward if she is able to reclaim her old life. To make matters worse, her mother, with whom she had a troubled relationship, died months earlier and Jane is now tasked with clearing out the clutter. 

An old Victorian house that had been hideaway for Jane when she was a teenager becomes an important character. This abandoned mansion was just outside of town, down a dirt road. Built in the mid 1800s, the house was painted purple and was furnished. To Jane, it seemed like the residents had left unexpectedly expecting to come back. It was her refuge from her mother’s volatility.

It may have been abandoned and in disrepair in her younger years but now it is unrecognizable. Purchased as a summer home for a Beacon Hill family. Genevieve, the new owner, has completely gutted, modernized it, and taken some actions that drive the plot forward. She is convinced the house is haunted and hires Jane to research its history.

What is uncovered through the tales of the people who lived there reveals the violent history of colonial America, lost loves, artistic awakening, death, and loss. The history is filled in by the ghosts of the past, clairvoyants, and found artifacts.

I was mesmerized by both the characters and the history uncovered. This was a well researched book that I felt moved the story along. The only part I felt could have been condensed was the journey through the alcoholic haze. While the rest was fresh, this part was not.

For me, this is Sullivan’s deepest, most interesting story to date.