I stumbled on to this book on the online library when desperate to just check something out to download to my Kindle and get on with it. (Nothing else I wanted to read was available.) While the pacing is slow, and I almost quit the book at first, I'm glad I stuck with it. The author, a historian, tells a fictionalized account of a real court case that occurred due to a murder (or not?) of a pregnant woman in 1885 Richmond, VA. As an attorney, I enjoyed seeing differences in the court room procedures and the procedures used now. As someone who enjoys history, I liked the tidbits of period facts that were woven into the story. But as someone who likes loose ends tied up at the end of her stories, I did not like the ending. On the other hand, but it mirrored real life and this IS based on a true story. So while I usually stomp the ground in frustration (can't throw the book anymore since I treasure my Kindle too much) when my books don't end tidily, this ending actually seemed appropriate to the story. But it doesn't mean I have to like it. The body of a pregnant young woman is found floating in the reservoir in Richmond VA - this is 1885 and the South is still coming back from the Civil War. As the story unfolds it seems to take a predictable path but about half way through, something doesn't seem to gel.A disjointed story - part failed romance, part murder trial circa 1880's. Did Lillie commit suicide or did her lover, Tommie kill her? Was it her lover's baby, or her father's? Which of the many accounts of Lillie's death told by Tommie was really true? And did Tommie and his brother Willie really cause their baby brother's death?I was left totally unsatisfied, unsure of what the story was, other than the loyalty of Willie for his brother.
What do You think about The Resevoir (2011)?
it was OK. I got a bit bored and had to persist with it to finish.
—paprika1234
