Amaryllis in Blueberry

Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum

I must confess that the title and the cover of this book intrigued me. I knew it was a book I would have to read. This book is about the Slepy family. They are as dysfunctional as a family can get in my opinion. Dick and Seena are married to each other but they don't seem to be much of a couple. Dick is involved in his religion and Seena seems to live in mythical dream world. When Dick decides to move Seena and his 4 girls- Mary Grace, Mary Tessa, Mary Catherine and Amaryllis to Africa to practice medicine in the bush, I got the distinct feeling some in the family were running from something. Boy was that an understatement! As you can see Amaryllis has a very different name from her sisters. She was born in a blueberry patch and has blueberry eyes to match her birthplace. Amaryllis seems to be her mother's favorite, even though her mother is not exactly the mothering type. The story begins at the end with Seena on trial in Africa for Dick's murder. The story then goes back and forth between their life in Michigan and how the family ended up in Africa and what happened after they arrived in Africa. When the family lived in Michigan, they had problems. Dick and Seena didn't seem to notice what was going on in any of their daughter's lives right under their noses. When they arrived in Africa, all hell really breaks loose and the two find out that they really should have been paying more attention to their children as well as each other. The book is well written and riveting. If I hadn't been so busy, this is a book I would have read in one sitting. Starting the book with the ending was brilliant! The ending was a big surprise for me with many twists and turns. All I could say when I finished it was, "Wow!" I hate to say too much about the story as it is one you should really experience. There are many surprises in this book! I highly recommend this book. It is also a great book for discussion which would make it an excellent choice for book clubs and groups. This is a book that I be thinking about for a long time.

Christina Meldrum has written one other book so far, a young adult novel titled Madapple. I look forward to seeing more stories from Christina. She tells a story that keeps you guessing until the very end.

I received this book for review from Inkwell Management.