The Way From Here

 

Summary (from the publisher): Three generations of women. Three generations worth of secrets. Will a cache of letters from beyond the grave hold the key to unravelling them all? The answer to that question lies at the heart of this addictive and atmospheric novel from the author of The House of Brides.

Growing up, the Anderson sisters could not have been more different. Susie, the wild one, had an adventurous life while Camilla— Mills—followed a safer path. When Susie suddenly dies, Mills falls apart. Until she receives a bundle of mysterious letters from her estranged sister to be read in the case of her death. Each letter instructs her to visit a place special to Susie, both to spread her ashes but also to uncover some truths Susie has long kept hidden from her family. 

Review: Thank you to HarperCollins for the advance copy of this novel. 

The Anderson sisters, Mills and Susie, have always been wildly different. When Susie dies unexpectedly, Mills is surprised to receive a bundle of letters from her sister along with instructions to read them in special locations, she feels compelled to follow her sister's last wishes. The letters take Mills on a journey through her sister's past. In alternating chapters, the novel goes back in time to Susie as a younger woman to help illuminate why each of the locations held such significance in her life. Slowly, the letters and Susie's story reveal a family secret long kept hidden from the sisters. 

This was a decently entertaining story about family secrets across generations. The big mystery was slowly teased at over the course of the novel and revealed over time. Cockram did a good job of having the two storylines build upon each other and intersect enough for them both to be interesting. There were a few plot points that just didn't particularly add up to me or that didn't pan out, although I won't give any spoilers away by going into detail. Additionally, despite being one of the two main characters, Mills seems so much less fleshed out than Susie. Mills is on a journey of discovery about her family and her sister, but yet remains largely mysterious herself. Her unhappy marriage is frequently alluded to but no real details about her family back home are given. Similarly, the girls' mother, who ends up playing a fairly pivotal role in the story, isn't fully fleshed out either. 

Stars: 3

Related Title: 

The House of Brides by Jane Cockram