Richard

I was expecting a thrilling page-turner, but was greatly disappointed as the plot continually got bogged down by constant explanations of dry minutiae. The narrator tried hard to keep one's interest, but fought a losing battle when pitted against endless expositions on such trivia as the chain of command on reporting naval deaths in the Pacific, battles fought by various ancient Hawaiian kings, and much more. To me, it was as if Ms. Reichs worked harder to impress us with her brilliance and research abilities rather than treat us to a breathtaking ride through the pages of her novel.

Her character is fully three-dimensional, not only in life, but in time as well. She is vulnerable and fallible, making her someone I wanted to know more about.

The characters are seamlessly woven into the World War I era and are caught up in its happenings and aftermath.

Ms. Barrington gives us the flavor of what the era in Britain was like at that time - the transmutation of the culture from Victorian mores to a more progressive and permissive time, and the resulting change of how women were viewed and how they viewed themselves.