This story of murder, love, and hate will not let you put the book down. You'll find out the family secrests and why Helen has a real hate for this man her daughter wants to run away with. And all threw this Lita is still working on keeping the family a strong unit. I admired Lita - she is a loving mother, caring wife, great daughter and cousin but also a no-nonsense type of girl that doesn't just sit around. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was very impressed with Jervey's writing style and how he played Lita and Helen against each other. Lita feared her mother, but she learned to stand her ground. She also handled her father very well. That relationship was very funny. It had the right mix of tragedy and reward, the plot was interesting, the characters were real. It kept my attention! This is a fine piece of literature, a novel of monumental characterizations. Mr. Tervalon's style just sweeps you up and gets you involved with the various characters. I look forward to reading his other novels. ( )