BOOK REVIEW: Things We Once Held Dear

THINGS WE ONCE HELD DEAR by Ann Tatlock is a gentle read even though the plot revolves around a murder that happened years earlier.

Neil Sadler had left the small town of Mason twenty years ago to make a successful life in New York City. The death of his wife has drawn him back home, back to the sad/happy memories of growing up as part of a loving, extended family. The center of that life was the large, rambling house that the children had called The Gothic House. Now, his cousin Grace has plans to turn the old place into a bed and breakfast with Neil’s help.

His Aunt Helen’s death was a big part of why Neil had left Mason. As the story unfolds in flashbacks, we learn that Helen had been murdered and that her husband Tom was convicted of the crime and had died in prison. As Neil tries to repair his own shattered world, he reconnects with his close childhood friend Mary, Tom and Helen’s daughter. Mary still believes that her father was innocent.

Several people who had been involved in the twenty year old mystery are at the end of their lives and are willing to get things off their own conscience. Among this group is Neil’s Uncle Bernard, an aging, retired Episcopalian priest. Although still bound by the silence imposed by his religious calling, Bernard helps Mary and Neil face some hard truths.

The physical labor on the Gothic House and finding closure with the past, all help to give Neil some of the peace that he had returned home to find.

Ann Tatlock creates well defined characters. I like an author who can build three dimensional side characters. This book takes us back to a more mellow time in our own life while giving us a plot that will keep us intrigued.

Ms. Tatlock is the recipient of the Christy Award for her I’ll Watch the Moon. The Christy Award was named for Catherine Marshall’s book Christy, one of my all-time favorite books.