Maelle is a shy botanist who prefers plants to people. She was orphaned as a child when her mother died in what she was told was an accident and raised in a hippie commune society by her grandmother and aunt. When Maelle’s becomes interested in psychiatrist Zach Kane, she learns that her mother and his father knew each other and her mother’s death may not have been an accident. On top of that, a filmmaker wants to do a documentary on the commune and her grandfathers siblings want to sell the land that they are all living on. With Maelles investigation into her mother’s death and the filmmakers documentary, what kind of commune secrets will be revealed?
This story has so many layers to it. It’s as much about families and the secrets they keep as it is solving the mystery behind the death of Maelle’s mother. Family dynamics and dysfunction, lies, secrets, and the things we ignore for love. Told mainly between the viewpoint of Maelle and her grandmother, we see how decades of life at the commune and the secrets they keep affect generations. Spense does a wonderful job of making you feel like you are there and fleshing out the characters, even ones you may not like very much. There are some difficult topics in regards to animal activism and animal cruelty but it’s easy to skim over these brief descriptions. I found myself engrossed in the story and wanting to know what happened.
At 3.75 of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars I recommend this book and thank Suzy’s Approved Book Tours and author Margaret Ann Spense for the review copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Scarlet Dress
