All Things Hidden

Starred review from November 11, 2013
Prolific novelist Peterson (The Miner's Lady) and Woodhouse (No Safe Haven) team up on a Depression-era drama set in Alaska. In a time of change, just after the Great Depression, the only constant in the life of Alaskan Gwyn Hillerman is hope. Thanks to President Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Matanuska Valley is opened to thousands of settlers fleeing the difficult conditions in the rest of the U.S. Gwyn and her physician father will be affected by the influx, much to Gwyn’s displeasure. Change is not her friend, yet she gives herself over to God’s plan and grows in ways she never imagined, surprising herself with her strength and the gift of love. The large cast of characters in this multiperspective epic lends depth and richness to the multiple connected storylines; each character is well thought out and developed with his or her own secrets and voice. A lot of story is packed into pages filled with loving, fully researched detail. The novel’s power lies in its deceptive simplicity and clear narrative.