This novel explores how siblings raised under similar circumstances can turn out so differently. We follow the Larkins, a 1950's devout Catholic family through generations as they play the hands they're dealt. We meet the girls first. Myra, the good girl becomes a prison nurse, marries, has a son and is then abandoned by her husband when the child turns six. Fiona, the bohemian, is constantly aspiring to an acting career and a lifestyle that she can't have. Lexy, the youngest, is the beauty of the family and has a head for finance. We also meet the boys, and while the youngest dies in infancy, Alec, the golden one, becomes an alter boy which sets him off to replicate his worst moments.
Members of the Larkin family brush up against violence-a mass murder a few blocks away from their house, encounters with serial killers Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacey, and a series of disturbing postcards that Alec periodically sends to his mother. Myra's son Ronan has the ability to redeem this family but has his own inherited demons to deal with. We hope for the best for these people but life happens and realistically, things don't always turn out the way we'd like them to.
This is a fascinating character study of a family on the edge. Grim in sections, hopeful in others, the reader is motivated to find out how the author will tie everything together and whether reckoning and redemption are possible. A difficult read but well worth the effort.
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