The Legacy by Katherine Webb

I received this book from NetGalley, of which I am a member reader. I will be publishing my review of this book on my web-blog (http://amy-bookaddiction.blogspot.com), www.goodreads.com, www.librarything.com as well as on NetGalley.com.

This book is about two sisters who have come back to their family estate after their grandmother's death. The house was left to them in the will and it is theirs to live in or to do what they want with it. There is a sense of trepidation as they move in to the house, as thier past holds secrets that neither one of them wants to confront right away. Beth, the older sister, knows what the secret is, or thinks she knows, but Erica, the younger of the two, does not remember certain things about what happened to their young cousin Henry. During a summer in their childhood, they were all staying with their grandmother, a very strict, cold woman, when Henry disappeared. Erica decides she wants to reveal the secret as she learns it, but Beth does not want to even talk about the disappearance, as she thinks it is her fault.

Part of the intrigue of this book is that it goes back and forth between the present and the distant past, delving into the life of Caroline, who is the first lady of the manor. Caroline lived in America (the book in the present tense is in England), and married a rancher from the midwest when she was 18 and moved out there with him. She had a very rough time with it and never thrived when she was out there. Her first husband was killed in an accident and she decides to flee the area with a baby she had in her charge.

As the mysterious secrets start to unfold the reader starts to understand why Caroline's story is integral to the book. There is much detail in this book and it is written very well. The beginning of the book was a bit slow for me, but by the third chapter or so, things were falling into place and the pace picked up.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It has a bit of mystery, a little romance and family structure that is very interesting. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from this author.