The story begins in the waning days of 1916, with the United States soon to be embroiled in World War I under President Woodrow Wilson. In a crime that presages the violent conflict to come, a married wealthy couple, the Blandens, are brutally slaughtered in their home. The only other person known to be in the house at the time of the murders is the younger of the Blandens’ two daughters, Cora. Though a slight and unassuming girl, she soon becomes the only real suspect in the murder and is soon arrested. Readers initially follow the story from the perspective of Elizabeth Murphy, better known as “Bess,” the Blandens’ young maid (she’s the one who finds the slain Blandens’ bodies). Bess meets Ada Reilly, another of the novel’s point-of-view characters; she’s an ambitious young woman who’s making her way in the male-dominated field of criminal law. Sensing an opportunity, Ada gets herself hired by the older of the two Blanden sisters, Lydia, to represent Cora. Though Ada remains as impartial as she can, she’s struck by the adamancy with which both Bess and Lydia insist that Cora couldn’t possibly have committed such an unspeakable act of violence. DeBruney’s novel is simultaneously a period piece, a crime yarn, and a feminist parable that manages to still ring true more than 100 years after the events it depicts. Ada’s indefatigability in the face of legal and social obstacles makes her a winning character, and deBruney effectively captures the lovestruck innocence of the young Bess, which shines through despite the difficulties of her circumstances. Thinking about a boy she has a crush on, she reflects, “Elias is like the skim of pollen that gathers on windowsills each spring when the oak trees bust out all green and leafy: a golden thing that has seeped in where it doesn’t belong.” Fans of crime stories, historical fiction, and feminist literature will find much to like here.