*I received this as an ARC from Netgalley*
This is the first part in a four part serialisation. The story centres around the Winter family, with each member having a voice in this initial part. Martha is planning a party and has invited all the family back to Winterfold (the family home) to celebrate her 80th birthday with her. Such a simple act it would seem but not when everyone in the family is keeping secrets. Attending the party for some would mean revealing that which they have sought to hide. No spoilers here however!
Harriet Evans has written realistic and interesting characters. Some of the secrets at the moment are yet to be fully explained as to why they are secrets, as families do keep things from each other for all sorts of reasons that may not always seem logical to others - the human condition etc - but this actually makes the characters more likable for me - there is a substance and credibility to them with their foibles and imperfections laid out for us as readers. The genuine affection between Martha and David is endearing, complete as it is with the realisation that the dynamics within their marriage are perhaps not quite as everyone else has always assumed. Martha's reminisces about her children are poignant as she grapples with the battle between heart and head; whilst as a mother she loves her children, she also has to recognise that Daisy has not perhaps been the mother she would have liked her to have been.
The pace of the book is judged well - you are taken on a journey to get to know the family that is slow enough to feel as though you are getting to know each of them but not so slow that you lose interest. This ensures that you are drawn into the unfolding tale of the Winter family and left wanting Part 2 - which I most definitely do after reading this! One of the reasons that I love Netgalley is that it brings you into contact with authors with whom you otherwise may not have engaged. I am glad that I was introduced to Harriet Evans - as someone who has enjoyed authors such as Titia Sutherland and Rebecca Shaw, Harriet Evans is most definitely on a par and someone whom I will be reading in the future!
