Reflection

By: Diane Chamberlain

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Twenty years ago, a terrible tragedy shattered the tranquility of the small Pennsylvania Dutch town of Reflection. The residents of the village have never forgiven the one woman they blamed for what happened - Rachel Huber. After the incident, Rachel left the town and cut off all ties there. But when Rachel receives the news that her estranged grandmother, Helen, is ill and needs her care, she returns to Reflection.

On arrival she discovers that the town has not forgotten the past, and, among the hostility and gossip, Rachel is forced to seek out old allies and new passions. Soon she finds an unlikely advocate in her grandmother, who surprises her with her wise counsel and rare strength. Rachel comes to realize that they are both trying to overcome the past, and in doing so they bring private guilt and concealed secrets into the light.

©2010 Diane Chamberlain (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A fast-paced, engrossing read focusing on a delightful pair of characters." ( Kirkus)

Not as good as the last of hers I read

I loved Pretending to Dance and listened to this right after. Mistake. Didn't hold up. Chamberlain weaves a good plot but this one took much longer for me to get carried away than the last one.

this really held my interest...

...which honestly surprised me a bit. The author is clearly expressing her own values, which felt "preachy" for me a few times. That said, it was well written, the characters were well developed, and the story kept me engaged. Well worth the credit.

OKAY!

I am a fan of DC; however, in my opinion, the best part of this book was the end. Touching, but corny and predictable. I was disappointed. My review of her others have been good. Just couldn't do it this time. She is a good novelist and I will not judge her work by this one.

Liked The Book But.....

The story of the little town of Reflection was good but there were a few things that bugged me about it. First, why did Rachel go by her maiden name? She had two husbands but there was never any explanation as to why she went by Huber.
Second, Reflection was mostly made up of Amish and Mennonites, two very religious groups of people. Religious people are supposed to by forgiving, right? So, why did everyone in town hate Rachel? I can understand those feelings in a regular town but not a town full of alleged Christians.
Another thing that bugged me was the mispronunciation of some words. The narrator pronounced "triplex" as "trip-lex", not "tri-plex" and the word "dour" as "do-er".

Reflection

I have listened to several of Diane Chamberlain’s books. Her stories draw me into the characters. This is my favorite Diane Chamberlain books. Erin Bennett did a great job narrating. Looking for more with these two!