UNRAVELING A MULTITUDE OF SECRETS -- A REVIEW

A doctor's wife, Cassia is seemingly content with her husband and three children. But beneath the facade lies a life of unrealized potential and dreams. For once Cassia, too, aspired to be a doctor. But meeting Edward Tallow changed everything.

Was it the times in which she lived? Women were not necessarily pursuing careers or independent lives, especially if they married and had children. Finding role models for the life she had wanted were in short supply.

So, in many ways, it was not inconceivable for women like Cassia to succumb to a more subordinate role.

How does the unexpected legacy change everything for Cassia? What starts as an exploration into buying a few treats and investing in a friend's theatrical production extends to renting a little house in London so she can resume her medical career in clinics nearby. What other dreams and fantasies will be unleashed, once she reconnects with old friends and unrequited loves?

But will her husband fight her efforts? Will he sabotage her at every turn? And what about the suddenly unanswered questions that have cropped up about the true source of the money left in the trust that has wrought all these changes for Cassia?

The upper echelon of society populates Windfall, with characters who are friends to Cassia, some of whom were debutantes with her when she was living in London with her godmother. Their riches, their values, their own flaws and failings bring many layers to the story and the reader starts to invest in their happiness as well as their sorrows.

The richly layered story casts its net wide upon the social scene of England, with its interesting backdrop of the new King Edward VIII, who will eventually abdicate the throne for his love Wallis Simpson. It is a story about love, lust, greed, envy, loss, and numerous misunderstandings. Weaving together the complicated threads to the mystery behind the legacy creates enough tension to keep the reader moving along quickly through this rather dense novel to create a colorful tapestry of characters, plots, and subplots. A captivating five star read.