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Novel set in Kansas (secrets in the family)

9th May 2017

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel, novel set in Kansas.

What is the story of the Roanoke girls? Everyone in Osage Flats, Kansas, seems to think they are privileged, rich girls. Lane, the daughter of one of the daughters, Camilla, is the narrator through this dark, mysterious and compelling novel of family relationships and ultimately protection.

novel set in kansas

Camilla, herself a victim, finds she can no longer live with her secret and is driven to find a way out. This leaves 15 year old Lane to face things on her own, and she is readily accepted and welcomed into her grandfather’s home. She is eagerly awaited by Allegra, the daughter of another Roanoke daughter, Eleanor, who also resides at Roanoke, the remote rural farmstead. The same age, the same issues around each mother are familiar, and both girls are preoccupied with who their individual father might be.  They strike up a sound, trusting friendship.

The complex family dynamics which Lane discovers make her run away from the security and terrible secrets. When Allegra goes missing, she has no choice but to return.

Amy Engel creates a sense of place, the unrelenting heat, the humidity in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, and where there is little to occupy the younger members of society. No-one seeks to escape unless they are running away. She describes setting so well, the dust, opening a car door, buffeted by the overwhelming heat that permeates everything; naked skin sticking to more bare skin; dust billowing around the arid countryside. The Roanoke farmstead feels remote, it is a long drive to the end of a long track….

I really liked the style of this book, Then, Now interspersed with the individual narratives of Camilla, Eleanor and grandmother Lilian. Whatever happened to Emmeline?

The reality is that if I had known the basic premise of this novel, I may not have chosen to read it, but I’m so pleased I did. However, because of the subject matter it is not a novel for everyone! Yes, we are talking about incest.

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