In this Michigan-based mystery set in the 1930s, there are hints that a farmer’s much-younger wife had something to do with his deadly accident.

The newspaper report that 41-year-old Samuel R. Forrest died “in an unfortunate farm accident” omitted the gory details. The gate to the pen holding Black Devil, the farm’s bull, had been left open. The beast got out, apparently became enraged, and tore apart Sam’s body, ripping away his face. The paper also didn’t say that Sam’s wife, Polly Wolcott Forrest, “as pretty as any screen star,” is a mere 20 years old. Polly’s sister, Sarah Wolcott Johnson, older by 11 years, lives on the farm next door with her husband, the Rev. Wesley Johnson, and their three children. Wesley remembers how Polly once flirted with him, and his “unhealthy desire for Polly had kept growing.” Townspeople notice the fashionably dressed, blue-eyed blond does not look or play the part of a grieving widow. Polly stops attending church and starts cruising the town with former neighbor Jacob Frond in his Model A. Because of reports that the Forrests had an unhappy marriage—“everyone in the congregation had seen Polly’s bruises,” and there were rumors that Sam’s weight loss was due to poisoning by his wife—the local sheriff conducts multiple interviews with Polly and the Johnsons. The lawman wants to determine who left the gate open to Black Devil’s pen. Sarah, Wesley, and Polly take turns narrating different chapters of Whitney’s book. Polly’s portion, primarily epistolary, has her writing to her Connecticut-based mother, encouraging her to visit and relaying her dreams of becoming a milliner (she labels veils “the fashion statement of the moment”). The different points of view and the clues to Sam’s personality and death are quite engaging. The pacing moves the story along briskly, and historical references enrich the novel. Setting the Depression-era tone are conversations about massive job losses and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s agricultural programs, plus vivid descriptions of patched hand-me-downs and “long, hungry, gaunt faces.” Yet a hopeful tone prevails, and images of Michigan meadows, apple picking, and sunshine layered through puffy clouds are skillfully laced in the engrossing tale.

Hats off to this compelling historical mystery.

Whitney’s historical drama vividly captures the fears, desperation, and fortitude of a tightly knit Michigan farm family, depicted through the lives of a trio of sisters enduring the Great Depression.

Three narrators take turns recounting the events of a traumatic year on the Yoder farm. The alternating voices of very imaginative 7-year-old Nellie, narcissistic 11-year-old Irene, and superresponsible 16-year-old Flora reflect the differences in not only their ages, but in their temperaments. It is 1934, and Nellie has completed her last chore—sewing a button on her dress. She is now allowed to run off to greet the farm animals she loves and to explore the woods leading to the creek. On the way, as she fantasizes about finding buried treasure, she spots a small dirt mound. Perhaps this is where she will discover hidden jewels. She begins digging, and to her horror, she uncovers a “TINY BLUE-BLACK HAND.” Terrified, she races home. The sheriff is called and discovers a dead baby. Irene doubts the story since Nellie “gets things mixed up all the time.” But Flora organizes the girls into a club to secretly learn more about the infant’s identity and cause of death. The mystery runs through the entire novel, but it is only one of a series of disturbing incidents. Two girls from a neighboring town have disappeared; a drunk brute breaks into the Yoder food cellar; seedy preacher Brother Johnson arrives on the scene; and Nellie’s life is threatened. This gives the narrative sufficient action, but its greater strength rests with the sisters’ accounts of the simple day-to-day realities of Depression life. Ma and Pa are afraid they will not be able to pay their mortgage or taxes, and customers no longer have money to buy even eggs. And there is never enough food. “Bread, potatoes, and beans are what we eat,” says Flora, which lends special poignancy to the fact that Ma hands out bean sandwiches to the hungry young “train riders.” Unfortunately, the book contains many disparaging references to the Roma people.

An atmospheric, intimate Depression-era family portrait with three distinct, engaging characters.