After eighteen year old Kath Branch was dumped by the love of her life for the man who had made her pregnant, she decides she will have to leave her hometown of St. James, Illinois. Kath sets out to run away to San Francisco in 1975, she only makes it as far as Los Angeles though.
On the same night Kath ran away, Billy Carlson, owner of a local sandwich shop is gunned down in cold blood, his body is dumped in the St. James River. Can this be a coincidence this happened on the night Kath left town?
Thirty five years later, Lawyer Meredith Carlson decides to re-open the cold case regarding Billy’s murder. She has a personal interest in the case, Billy was her husband Bill’s father. Meredith thinks she’s solved Billy’s murder. She is convinced Kath is the murderer and sets out to entice her back home to answer for her crime.
Kath Branch is a legend, she’s made it big as a rock star. Will Meredith be able to lure her back? Thirty five years is a long time to be gone. Will Kath want to return to a town where she suffered such heartbreak? If she does come back, will she meet up with the woman who broke her heart?
Meredith can’t know that her actions are going to have far reaching consequences on her life and the lives of her family. When the secrets and lies are exposed, will life ever be the same for any of them ever again?
This is a very well written book mainly centering on the life of Kath Branch and her friends both past and present. The books hops backwards and forwards from 1975 to the present day. It’s great to see the contrast between the years. Sometimes it’s all too easy to forget that attitudes even in the 1970’s, were far different to those of today.
I found the book to be interesting and exciting. The characters all interacted with each other well. There was a lot crammed into the book. Not only about Kath, but her friends as well. Although Kath is a lesbian and this is basically her story, this book could well go into mainstream publishing as it isn’t all about lesbians, there is a good murder mystery at it’s heart. I liked the way the actual story was told, going to and from past to present.
It’s a story of a long lost love, an unsolved murder and what happens when people meet after thirty five years. How times and feelings have changed, or not as the case may be. It’s also the story of the consequences of misguided actions and what the outcome of these actions will be. I got the impression that sometimes things are far better left alone than dredged up. But in order to have an excellent book like this one, you need someone to meddle. The ending was a total surprise too. Not at all how I thought it was going to end.
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