There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: "Don't let him in until I'm gone." That's what Mina Yetner's neighbor whispers to her just before the EMTs take her to the hospital. Mina writes down the message-at nearly ninety, she has to write down most things lest she forget-and calls Sandra's daughter Ginger, telling her that once again her mother needs help.
Evie Ferrante is dismayed when she gets the call from her sister: this time it's Evie's turn to see what their mother's done to herself. But when Evie arrives home-where she hasn't been in months-she's shocked by the state of her mother's house: it's in terrible disrepair, much worse than Ginger led her to believe. And as Evie cleans and organizes, she finds things that don't make sense: expensive liquor in the garage, pricier than their mother's usual brand, a new flat-screen television on the wall. Where was her mother getting all this money?
The blessing and curse of small neighborhoods is knowing everything about your neighbors, and Evie, suspicious and concerned about her mother, rekindles a relationship with Mina. Mina's been having episodes she can't explain lately, herself, and her nephew Brian is trying to convince her to move to a community that will provide her with some help. Though Mina's resistant, Evie isn't certain that isn't a bad idea. But before any decision is made about Mina, Evie needs her help figuring out what's been going on with her mother-and the more Evie digs into what her mother's been up to over the past few months, the more a bigger-and more sinister-story begins to unfold.
Kritters Thoughts: A slow start, but a great finish to this thriller. A young woman who has spent her professional life preserving moments from the past for others to enjoy for years to come, when she is ripped out of her normal routine to her hometown to take care of her suddenly ailing mother. Along with an elderly neighbor who is quite a feisty one they uncover a plot that is ripping through their neighborhood and the real question is who is behind the plot.
Although I thought there was a slow start to this book, once the pieces started fitting together the book sped quickly to the end. With quite an intense last 50 pages, I wish that the first part would have been just as intense, but it was still worth reading to get to the conclusion.
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2013 Challenge: 23 out of 50
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partner in Crime Tours. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
On the tour:
April 13 Showcase @ HottBooks
April 15 Review by Kristin @ Kritters Ramblings
April 16 Review by Melina @ Melina's Book Blog
April 17 Review by Frishawn @ WTF Are You Reading?
April 20 Review by Tammy @ The Self Taught Cook
April 21 Review by Linda @ Bookvisions
April 23 Review by Kathleen @ Celticlady's Reviews
April 26 Review by Mason @ Thoughts in Progress
April 30 Review by Amy @ The Crafty Book Nerd
Ooo this sounds good! I am intrigued!
ReplyDeleteI've seen this on a couple other blogs, thanks for sharing your insight. It sounds good.
ReplyDeleteIt's Monday
So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Great post!
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