I'm really not sure about my rating of this book. I think I am probably being heavily (too heavily?) influenced by the ending, which I found somewhat unsatisfying. For much of the story the characters seemed quite believable to me, although one or two tended towards caricatures. The essence of the story is one that is definitely worth telling. What is a good mother like? What indeed is a good person like? Do we carrying some/all/none of the blame for our children's mistakes? How do we act in our own interests as well as in the interests of others? How much should we trust people? Can we forgive ourselves of our own mistakes? In attempting to address these questions Isabelle Grey sometimes is inclined to provide answers that are a little bit too simple. In this regard, most of her characters here (with one or two notable exceptions) are presented as very much pure in heart - more so than people are in my experience (including myself). ( )