Sally Beauman The Sisters Mortland

The Sisters Mortland

Sally Beauman

Warner, Feb 2007, $13.99

ISBN: 0446696013

In 1967 in England, Widow Stella hires artist Lucas Feld to paint a portrait of her daughters the Mortland sisters. His work captures not only their beauty, but the unique personalities of each of the trio. Lucas shows twenty-something Julia the oldest as the haughty ruler of the others; twentyish Finn who is the middle sibling depicted as deeply focused and a bookworm; finally the eccentricity of the youngest thirteen years old Maisie, who hears voices as she can talk with the dead.

Almost three decades later in 1991 Lucas is having a showing of his work with his first masterpiece THE SISTERS MORTLAND as the star attraction. This leads long time family friend Daniel Nunn to need to look into the tragedy associated with the portrait. He knows that THE SISTERS MORTLAND never were the same following that summer when he, his friend Nick Marlow, Lucas and the two older females had a brush with love. He needs to know why the tragedy occurred because he does not comprehend that he is the one that is not the same remaining after all these years obsessed with the siblings and the events of the summer of 67.

This is an interesting English suspense thriller as the audience is hooked wondering just what the tragedy was that destroyed the summer of love. The story line is broken into three narrations. Maisie as the "watcher" of the other five relates what she sees especially when she talks with dead nuns or her late dad. Daniel takes charge in 1991 as he is fixated with a need to know what happened in 1967. Finally Julia provides a coda wrapping up the thriller. Throughout the audience will obsess just like Daniel to know what really occurred. Sally Beauman provides a well written character driven suspense mystery.

Harriet Klausner