The Vanishing Point

May 29, 2006
Sexual tension and foreboding abound in this engaging but clumsy colonial potboiler. Sharrat's novel chronicles the travails of Hannah and May Powers, close English sisters who have been raised by their physician father. May is sent to Maryland in order to be married, but when Hannah arrives in the New World for a visit, she is informed by her brother-in-law that May has died following childbirth. Hannah suspects something sinister, though, and begins searching for the truth even as she becomes romantically entangled with her sister's widower. Sharratt succeeds in keeping the plot unpredictable, even as the characters, prose and dialogue are mired in cliche and awkward syntax ("How came you here?" and "Get you back to the dock" are typical examples of the novel's 17th century-speak). An over-reliance on shifting perspectives and chronological jumps also obstructs the novel's strengths, including interesting, well-researched period detail with an emphasis on food and medicine. These winning passages coexist queasily with sex scenes that seem lifted from lesser romance novels. The plot remains sturdy, however, leading to a conclusion that is well-orchestrated and satisfying.

June 15, 2006
When beautiful, promiscuous May leaves 17th-century England to marry an unknown distant cousin in the New World, her plain but brilliant sister, Hannah, is heartbroken, but vows to follow her sister to America someday. In the meantime, Hannah cares for their physician father, who secretly passes his knowledge of medicine on to her. Letters are exchanged between the sisters at the rate of only one or two a year, telling much of May's new life but remaining oddly silent about her new husband, Gabriel. When the girls' father dies, Hannah leaves England intending to reunite with her sister. On arriving in America, however, she does not find May, but Gabriel, with whom she falls in love. Hannah and Gabriel attempt to carve a new, happier life for themselves -until Hannah can no longer ignore her doubts about Gabriel's part in May's disappearance. This extremely compelling, well-researched, and intensely written tale by Sharratt ("The Real Minerva") is packed with fascinating historical information. Its only fault is that the narrative switches perspectives between characters, which in itself would be fine, except that the events are related out of sequence. This is not only somewhat confusing but also unnecessary, but despite this drawback the book is recommended for public libraries." -Wendy Bethel, Upper Arlington P.L., OH"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
Though vastly different, sisters May and Hannah Powers have been raised as independent, freethinking women by their physician father. May, a lusty, vivacious spitfire, defies seventeenth-century British conventions, taking many lovers and chafing against the idea of a traditional marriage. Meanwhile, younger sister Hannah is secretly trained in the art and science of healing by her doting father. When a disgraced May is sent to America to marry a distant cousin, Hannah fears she will never see her beloved sister again. After their father's death, Hannah travels to the New World to reunite with the only family she has left. Once in Maryland, however, Hannah learns May is dead and finds herself irresistibly drawn to her brother-in-law. Although she is told her sister died in childbirth, accumulating evidence seems to suggest otherwise, and Hannah realizes she must unravel the mystery of May's life and possible death no matter what price she may pay for unearthing the truth. An authentically detailed period piece with elements of gothic suspense thrown in for good measure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)