The Mill River Recluse

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mary Hayes lived all of her life in a small Vermont town. She helped her father raise and train horses. She was a shy, quiet girl with anxiety that resulted from being attacked by one of her high school teachers. When Patrick McAllister comes to her father’s house to look at one of his horses, Patrick doesn’t only takes in interest in the horse, but with Mary as well. Patrick is patient with Mary and her shyness, and her discomfort about being around a lot of people. He finally convinces her to come and meet his family. Mary agrees and has a lovely time with Patrick’s grandfather, who seems to understand the young girl’s fear. Finally Patrick asks Mary to marry him and she agrees to marry Patrick and into one of the riches families in town.
Mary’s life takes a sudden change after marrying Patrick, the good looking, patient, wonderful husband, isn’t what he seems to be. Of course his sisters and parents are so proud of him and in their eyes is the perfect son, brother, husband that anyone could have and Mary should consider herself lucky to have landed him. Patrick’s anger one day leads to a tragedy that no one saw coming, especially Mary and ends up with brunt of his anger. Left with limited eye sight, a widow, and a fortune, Mary decides to spend the rest of her life living in her big house on the hill, with only Father Michael O’ Brien as her only friend and companion.
While she sits in her mansion on the hill that looks down to the town, Father O’ Brien tells her about what’s going on in the town, the towns’ people, who’s new to the community, keeps her informed as if she knows each and every one of them, right down to their homes and pets. Through the years, he tells her how one community member lost her home in a fire, and how a couple of weeks later someone bought her a new one. One Christmas, every family in the town received a new color tv, and how others have benefited from an anonymous benefactor, all the while Mary stays in her house and watches the town move on and move forward, keeping a secret that no one knows and would surely surprise the town.
This book shifts back and forth between past and present and between various characters’ perspectives—the author handles these changes with confidence and doesn’t leave readers confused. Her characters are well developed to where you feel like they are your family members, BFF’s or someone that you don’t like. You get the small town feel that the author has described. This book leaves you hope, kindness, and knowing that there is still good people in this world.


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