Arrowood

Starred review from April 11, 2016
A failed graduate student’s return to the family mansion she inherited from her grandfather touches off a maelstrom of emotion, regret, and memories in McHugh’s poignant second novel, which features just a smidgeon of the supernatural. Arden Arrowood’s two-year-old twin sisters, Violet and Tabitha, were kidnapped from their front yard in the small town of Keokuk, Iowa, bordering the Mississippi River. Charged with watching the twins while their pill-addicted mother was sleeping, eight-year-old Arden stepped away for a minute before the toddlers went missing; all she remembers is chasing a gold car speeding away. The twins were never found and their disappearance fractured the family in ways Arden is just beginning to acknowledge. Settling into the mansion 20 years later, Arden deals with a floodgate of childhood memories as she inches toward the truth while pursued by Josh Kyle, who wants to write about the vanished twins on his website, Midwest Mysteries. Lyrical prose and in-depth character studies examine the reliability of memory, punctuated by believable suspense and aided by a careful look at a small town.

Arden Arrowood knows loss. Arden's younger sisters went missing when she was just 8 years old, and she has spent the 20 years since searching for them--and for the girl she was before. Narrator Sarah Scott does a compelling job of bringing Arden to life for listeners. After several moves, and the death of her father, she returns to Arrowood, her family home. Once home, she tries to discover what happened to her sisters while also attempting to figure out who she is and what comes next. Scott transitions between characters--and between memory and the present day--seamlessly altering tone, inflection, and cadence. Her delivery enhances the story while building toward the chilling conclusion. Despite the darker plot points, Scott makes Arden's journey relatable for anyone who struggles to avoid being defined by the past while also trying to understand it. K.S.M. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine