I really liked this book. The characters were well written and came to life easily. Not having read anything else about Beryl Markham - however knowing who she was - this book did a great job of starting her life at a very young age and traversing all the changes she had to endure as she matured. In doing this, you are able to get a very clear picture of not only who Markham was, but also a great introduction to the people who shared her life. I felt that I got a great deal of information from this book, ended up knowing and liking Markham, and it also peaked my interest in some of the other members of her life - such as what happened to Jock Purvus, Ruta and his family, and a desire to know more about Denys Finch Hatton.
Paula McLain does a great job of research and story telling.

In this second book about Constance Kopp, following Girl Waits With Gun, we again are greeted with not only Constance, but her sisters, Norma and Fleurette, and the rugged Sheriff Robert Heath - Constance's boss. Constance has been unofficially named as the first female deputy sheriff of Hackensack, Bergen County New Jersey.

Constance inadvertently lets a criminal, Dr Herman Von Matthesius, escape from his hospital room during a power outage. Knowing that Sheriff Heath can be jailed for losing a prisoner, Constance is determined to recapture this man, single-handedly if need be - no holds barred.

This character, Constance Kopp, is based on a real person, who held newspaper headlines in 1912. Although the Kopp Sisters novels are fiction, they are based on the real first female sheriff in New Jersey. Many facts are taken from the newspapers printed at that time.

The character development is good. The teasing, abuse and ignorance of the male population, especially the male deputies of that time, is very well portrayed. The antics of Constance may be a bit frivolous at times, but very entertaining. That is not to say that Constance has it easy, or that she does not have her own difficult secrets, or a great responsibility in being the first woman in the deputy sheriffs office. She is defiantly a woman ahead of her time and doing her best to lay the road for those that follow her, both in the field of law enforcement and women's rights.

As Arthur Pepper tackles sorting through his deceased wife's belongings he comes across a hidden charm bracelet. A bracelet that he believes he has never seen or heard about, but definitely stirs his curiosity. And so the transformation begins...
This odyssey takes Arthur to India, Paris and London, as he searches for answers. Along the way he begins to doubt his 40 year marriage to Miriam. As he meets the people who correspond with the charms on the bracelet he sees another side of his wife ~ her life before him. He questions her love for him, he questions his acceptance by his grown children, and he questions why Miriam would stay with him and their uneventful routine life.
This book is the story of slow healing, better understanding those you love, and not only accepting the things you cannot change, but also changing with life's journey.
I really like the character development in this book. I started out not liking Arthur and ended up loving him. There were spots in the book that were very touching, that in fact, brought me to tears. Arthur's journey was realistic, as were most of the accompanying characters. The novel was a heartfelt, well written, easy read, in the manner of Elizabeth Berg or Anne Tyler, and one that you don't want to put down. This is the debut novel for this author, but I am sure not the last.