Five-star review of The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor
We follow a family’s history in two time
periods. In the present part of the story, Ivy Neale returns from New York City
to the beachfront cottage in North Carolina’s Outer Banks where she grew up
with her Grandmother Ruth. Ruth has died and the family’s seaside resort was
destroyed by a storm that also uncovered the shipwreck of the Liberty T.
Mitchell. The wreck is subject of all sorts of ghostly stories, but none as
gripping as the story of what happened at the resort in 1950 when Ruth was
twelve years old and working with her adoptive parents to keep the resort
going. As we go back and forth between Ruth’s childhood story and Ivy’s current
one, secret after secret is revealed. Although some seem contrived, the cast of
characters are interesting enough to keep my interest. Ruth is intrigued by the
singer, Carlotta, whose showboat is in dry dock for repairs while she’s chosen
to sing at the resort. Ivy must face Dani, her former best friend, and Matthew,
her ex-boyfriend, that she left behind twelve years ago to become a chef in New
York. As Ivy sifts through her grandmother’s hoard of items from the resort,
she finds photographs from the summer of 1950. She also leans more about her
grandmother and herself, including what she wants to do with the rest of her
life. This book is not my usual read, but I liked the mysteries and the
characters.
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