Whereabouts Unknown

After Beth’s parents die suddenly, she finds a letter among their belongings from a woman who claims to be their daughter, Anna, telling them about her daughter Sarah. Beth, however, was raised as an only child, with no knowledge of any siblings. Grieving and hopeful to meet the sister she never knew and a niece she can possibly be family to, Beth sets out on a road trip. Past and present alternate as her story is told alongside that of Jim, the man who would someday come to marry Anna and father Sarah.

(There is a twist in the story. I figured it out fairly quickly.)

The plot is interesting, but it wasn’t enough to keep me invested. I found it hard to care about the characters. Beth shows minimal reaction to her parents’ death and seems to be largely over it in a chapter or two. Jim has a rich internal life, but it is conveyed in such a matter-of-fact way that it was difficult to feel for him. The most I could say was that I knew how he felt because it was so plainly stated.

The book could be interesting, but it doesn’t reach quite far enough to actually grip the reader.