The freezing, gray, and neverending blustery winters on the Vineyard add appeal to this novel, for it is not usual to read about a locale usually depicted as warm, vibrant, and bustling. The flowery metaphorical prose portrays the hard-scrabble and frugal island inhabitants whose characters offer credence and panache, making the plot and storyline right on for an engaging tale.
Galland imbues latest her novel with a strong sense of place, and it will appeal to readers who like small-town settings that aren’t overly sweet or falsely charming.
Galland writes lush and convincing descriptions of life on Martha’s Vineyard in the off-season, and her writing brings to life the struggle between the year-rounders and the summer people. However, the drama of Joanna’s duplicity is never as intense as Joanna acts like it is—very few people who discover her secret even care that she has two jobs ... An interesting look at town politics on Martha’s Vineyard, but the characters are hard to root for.
