The Legacy

July 18, 2011
Webb's binary multigenerational epic unfolds in split narratives set in 1900s Oklahoma and the present-day U.K., revealing that secrets long buried still have the power to hurt. Sisters Erica and Beth Calcott return to Storton Manor in Wiltshire, England, to settle their late grandmother's estate, despite the painful memories the location stirs up: decades ago their cousin Henry mysteriously disappeared; the primary suspect at the time was "Dinny" Dinsdale, a local outcast and the first childhood crush for both Erica and Beth. As a girl, Erica was too young to grasp the details of Henry's fate, but 23 years later, now a strong and independent woman, she pleads with Dinny for answers, while older sister Beth, clinically depressed, wants to leave the past buried. Meanwhile, Erica discovers a photo of her great-grandmother Caroline posing with a mysterious baby in America, sparking an investigation into the mysteries of her ancestral history. Webb's (The Unseen) past and present, though equally realized, never intersect with much import; the two threads could easily exist as two independent books. Though the novel is choked with enough tragedy, melodrama, and lost love to make a soap opera dull in comparison, and recalls the work of V.C. Andrews, it will only truly grip fans of the genre.