We just discussed this book last night at book club. Many of us were fortunate enough to meet and hear the author a few weeks ago. Her research into the TVA building of dams and bringing electricity to East Tennessee was evident and never boring. The plot line of a three year old child going missing days before the land was to be flooded by the TVA was a driving force, however the narrative also drove the novel. Our discussion wandered into extended family relationships and also the hardship on folks that are uprooted from their homes for the greater good, especially after having lived and worked the land for sometimes more than one or two generations.

At lot of this book is set in a village in Canada that had fantasy-like images for almost every single member of our group. There are many levels of mystery to the story, and all were interesting and provided lively discussion topics. We vary in age, and those of us that are older were surprised that some members had never heard of the Dionne quints. So that opened up another avenue of discussion. Though we might not be readers of series for the most part, several of us were interested in following the main character in this book. There were many very interesting characters with well developed backgrounds that left you with a feeling of actually having spent some time with them. All in all, just a nice book.

Our discussion of this book was one of the most lively and involved we\\\'ve had in a very long time. We read a variety of genres, and we all agreed this was a book we might not have read on our own but were so grateful that our club offers us the opportunity to get out of our reading comfort zone. Not everyone in our group has worked outside the home, but we all took something away from the author\\\'s insight and research. This morning there was an article on Katherine Zaleski\\\'s tweet on mothers in the workplace. Couldn\\\'t have been more timely! A great conversation starter for women of all generations.

There were some that liked it and some that did not. We chose this book because of comparisons that had been made to the TV series "Justified." We found some of the characters to be interesting and had good discussion about the value of family and blood being thicker than water. The story had an interesting concept, but at times it seemed rather unrealistic -- maybe because we don't live in the same type of culture as the characters in the book. All in all, we were glad we read it and if we recommend it to others, we will have a few caveats. We felt that the author may have drawn from many stock perceptions of southern people that are not actually true. There were hints here and there that let you know what could be coming so that some things were not a total surprise. The layout was interesting and how he tied things together was pretty good. Some felt pushed to like certain characters that actually were not all that likable. If you are looking for something about current drug culture and people that deal in that trade, or if you are into violence that just pops up out of nowhere, you will probably enjoy the book.

Though you know from the beginning that this rowing team brought back gold from the 1936 Olympics, reading the blow by blow of that race will hold your attention and have you turning pages to find out what happens next as though it is happening as you read. 90 percent of our club pretty much said "loved it" when asked. And when you finish, you'll be excited to learn that a movie is being made. You can watch the actual race on youtube. The author did an amazing job writing this book. Not stuffy or stiff in the least. Very, very quick read because you have to turn the pages to find out what happens next.