Unforgettable

October 15, 2011
Dorrie Resterick, widowed during the evacuation of Dunkirk, is perfectly happy with her ordinary life in the small Cornish town of Nanviscoe, but she can't deny that she seems prone to stumbling across other people's troubles. These include those of young Finn Templeton and his very pregnant mother, Fiona, down-on-their-luck newcomers to the area after Finn's father is sent to prison for accepting bribes as a public official. Dorrie's niece Verity, who recently broke off her engagement and was disowned by her parents as a result, has also come to stay, and the town is divided over plans for a new town hall. Merrivale, the Templetons' home, was the site of a gruesome double gangland-style execution several years back, and the locals believe it to be haunted. Cook's postwar historical novel deftly introduces a new series that draws on the domestic settings at which she excels, and incorporates into that framework crime, mature love contrasted with teen lust, and a multitude of new beginnings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)