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Revision as of 11:03, 26 September 2020
, 11:03, 26 September 2020no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Mill River Recluse
|sort=Mill River Recluse, The
|author=Darcie Chan
|reviewer=Zoe PageMorris
|genre=Women's Fiction
|rating=5
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-0751550214
|pages=384
|publisher=Sphere
|date=November 2012
|summary=Small town Vermont is the setting for this interesting, mostly in a good way, and highly readable story.
|cover=0751550213
|aznuk=0751550213
|aznus=B0085NUCES
}}
The elderly Mary McAllister is a recluse, and most of the residents of Mill River know very little about her other than that she lives alone in the grand marble house overlooking the town, never venturing out. Father O’Brien, the local priest, is the exception, having known Mary since she was young and officiated at her wedding. Only he knows her secrets and the motives behind why she stays tucked away from prying eyes. As the story moves from her early marriage to the present day, he is her constant companion and link to the outside world.
I really don’t want to be too harsh on the book, though, because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. In a way the different unrelated elements were what kept me reading, as I expected things to fall into place if I ploughed through just a few more pages. As you’ll now know, they don’t all slot neatly into place as I’d anticipated, but that wasn’t apparent to me until the very end so for the first 300 or so pages I was raving about it to anyone who would listen.
Ultimately it depends on what you’re looking for in a book. Critically I’m not sure this one can hold its own, but for readers , it is, as is so often the case, a different story. I enjoyed this book. I identified with the characters, cared about what happened to them, and quite fancied moving to Mill River (and not just for the baked goods). It’s a bit overly sweet in places but then this is small -town America. It’s almost to be expected. Looking back it wasn’t perfect, but for the way I felt when reading it, it’s getting a full 5 stars because I don't think it's fair to penalise based on lazy publishingit. One to enjoy rather than think too closely about, for sure, but enjoy it you will.
Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book. We also have a review of [[The Mill River Redemption by Darcie Chan]].
If this book appeals then you might also enjoy [[Night Road by Kristin Hannah]].
{{amazontext|amazon=0751550213}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=9082764B0085NUCES}}
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