3.5 1939, Coventry, an IRA terrorist bomb explodes, many are killed, maimed. A young witness identifies the man she saw with the bicycle the bomb was attached too, a young Irish man with a wife, and although she hasn't told him yet she is expecting their first child. This young man and two others are convicted and hanged. It is the death of this young man that will have consequences that reverberate down throughout the next sixty years. This book explores how a single act can have an effect for so many, by centering on one family, a family that will eventually include his unborn daughter.

Right away I connected with the character, Bridget, Bridie they call her. The sins of the fathers, that phrase came to identify so much of her life, living under the shadow of her fathers act. The two sisters, Polly and Sara, reminded me so much of myself and younger sister as young girls. Two opposing forces connected by the deep sister bond many of us are lucky to have. But, there are secrets in this family, deep ones, that are slowly revealed as is Bridie's own, rather sad story.

The IRA, WWII, families, what it takes to stay connected, secrets and forgiveness, are all part of this interesting family story. A lighter read, but a well thought out one.

ARC from Netgalley. ( )