Author: maryvolmer

“Reliance, Illinois has it all—mystery, politics, war; love, death, and art. Every page is a pleasure.”—Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside OurselvesIllinois, 1874: With a birthmark covering half her face, thirteen-year-old Madelyn Branch is accustomed to cold and awkward greetings, and expects no less in the struggling town of Reliance. After all, her mother, Rebecca, was … Reliance. After all, her mother, Rebecca, was careful not to mention a daughter in the Matrimonial Times ad that brought them there. When Rebecca weds, Madelyn poses as her mother’s younger sister and earns a grudging berth in her new house.…