At the Water's Edge
Sara Gruen

What a privilege to get to read this book before the rest of the book loving world.  The beginning of the story left me unsure if I would enjoy this novel.  Maddie, Ellis and Hank were such frivolous, self-indulgent characters, there was very little to redeem them.  I visualized Maddie as a balloon tied to Ellis's wrist.  She bobbed along, following him wherever he led, with no will of her own.  Ellis and Hank were able to bully and cajole her into doing anything they wanted, whatever adventure they cooked up.

Running away to Scotland in the middle of WWII was an adventure to them, without any thought of how their actions would affect others.  What they found when they got there wasn't quite what they expected.  No one was there to take care of them, the luxuries they expected were just not available.

This is where the story became engrossing.  I couldn't put it away.  The personalities of the main characters crystallized.  Maddie came to realize that the life she had thought she loved was a sham. Her husband was unstable and possibly dangerous.  Her choices in life were not based on facts, they were based on perceptions and lies.  Maddie's growth and awakening were so well done, I found that I empathized and rooted for her, where in the beginning of the story I had no strong feelings one way or the other.

I don't like to re-tell the story in a review, so I won't go into details.  It's so much better to find out on your own, anyway!  This will be a must read for 2015 and I will tell everyone I know to pick it up!