The Only Child

September 5, 2022
This gripping mystery from Nunn (The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant) alternates between Brigid, a plucky 16-year-old who’s banished by her family when her pregnancy becomes evident in 1949, and Frankie Gray, a brave but angst-ridden former police officer in 2013, who’s trying to reconnect with her 15-year-old daughter, Izzy. Frankie has come to Orcades Island in Puget Sound, Wash., to help her mother renovate Fairmile, a long-abandoned mansion that once housed a Catholic home for unwed mothers. When Frankie hears of a suspicious death at the assisted living facility where her grandmother’s a resident, she immediately heads there. Frankie slips past the police and catches a glimpse of the crime scene, noting the twine that binds the elderly victim, a former nun, to her bed. Back at Fairmile, workmen uncover the long-buried body of an infant. Frankie investigates, but the stakes rise when Izzy disappears. The chapters about Brigid dramatically reveal the casual cruelty she suffered during her pregnancy and her will to survive. The skillful plot matches the two distinctive leads. This reminder of the harrowing realities faced by women pre–Roe v. Wade couldn’t be more timely. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon.

June 15, 2022
The Only Child is historical fiction-cum-murder mystery by Kayte Nunn. The novel follows two timelines and the reader is tasked with piecing together the connection between them. In the first timeline, which takes place in 2013, deputy sheriff Frankie Gray moves into her mother’s house on a small island. Early on it becomes apparent that a nun has been murdered in the nursing home where Frankie’s own grandmother resides. At the same time, Frankie’s mother is turning an old ‘fallen women’ home into a bed and breakfast, and comes across photos, ledgers and various other clues for Frankie to stumble upon. There’s a love interest, a sullen teenage daughter, a suspicious man, breadcrumb memories from Frankie’s life, and plenty of red herrings. In the second timeline, set in 1949, an unnamed girl becomes pregnant and is sent away with the intention she’ll give up her baby to a good Catholic family, then resume her life, unblemished. In reality the nuns are abusive, the girls are mistreated, and they’re all coerced into giving up their babies. If it seems like there are a few too many moving parts in this novel, that’s because there are: despite the page-turning quality of Nunn’s writing, there’s a lot happening and often not enough detail. However, many themes surface over the course of this book, and while it’s a lot to take in, there are some important ones: intergenerational trauma, Catholic guilt, and the healing of broken moments from the past. For lovers of classic commercial fiction, The Only Child is a thrilling feminist tale revealing stories that have too often been left buried. Danielle Bagnato is a book reviewer and marketing and communications professional.