Hester Young – Carol's Notebook

Author: Hester Young

Hester Young attended Tufts University, majoring in English and minoring in Latin American studies. She received her Masters degree in English from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Although her two years on the island of Oahu did produce a Masters degree in English. Following graduation, Hester returned to the east coast and began a five-year stint in southern New Hampshire as a high school English teacher. From her adventures teaching teenagers the art of fiction writing, she learned more than in all her previous years of higher ed. She currently resides in New Jersey with her husband and two young children, writing full-time.

I feel like the Louisiana swamp where one of the pivotal scenes in the book takes place is a good comparison for the novel overall. It's murky and meandering and full of scary things you can't quiet see but you know are out there. There's a lot going on, but it didn't feel overly jumbles to me. Charlie has dreams of children that need help, and it has a paranormal/ghost story feel to it. There's the cold case involving a missing child, and the Deveau family has lots of secrets, some that go back decades. Charlie also gets a chance at romance, all while she's still grieving for her son. Young manages to keep it all together, though, doesn't let the story ramble too much or get overly stuck in the subplots. I guess, really, there are no subplots - it all ties together in the end, it's just getting there that sometimes seems like your paddling around and through...