Briar Patch

November 1, 2011
Soap opera fans ought to adore the fourth Family Feud series entry. In late-nineteenth-century Britain, when beautiful but mentally slow Carrie Blake comes home with a torn bodice, she says the man who raped her was the squire. Incensed, her older brother, Dick, storms off and kills the squire, only to be killed himself by the squire's men. After the birth of Carrie's child, younger brother Tom comes to the rescue of the squire's daughter, Roz, when her dress is caught in a briar patch. While they feel an intense connection, both know they can't court or marry because of their class differences and families' enmity. Consequently, each marries without love, secretly longing for the other. When Carrie and Roz's husband are murdered, old hatreds resurface. The tumultuous relationships snap and crackle, making any love between the two clans difficult to find or sustain. Class consciousness and lies of omission and commission affect both characters and plot so strongly that readers who love interpersonal intrigue should relish every word.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)