Beneath the Pines — Janet Beard

“A thoroughly engaging read by an enormously gifted storyteller.” -- Julie Mars

In 1957, Mary Alice was a rebellious teenager in love with a rich Yankee boy who had just moved to her small Virginia mountain town -- much to the chagrin of her God-fearing mother, Lavinia. By 2004, Mary Alice has become a spinster biology teacher who hasn't spoken to her mother in over forty years.

When Lavinia dies, Mary Alice's niece, Claire, inherits the family house and moves to Virginia, bringing along a deep curiosity about her family's dark past -- and plenty of emotional baggage of her own.