Keeping The House by Ellen Baker

This was a fun book with enough mystery to make it a page turner. The story spans 3 generations and two World Wars. The Michelson house sits high on a hill looking down on it's neighbours, as do the inhabitants of the house. The house is said to be cursed because it was built on the grave of an indian princess who had committed suicide by throwing herself into the Bear Creek River. 

When the main character, Dolly Magnuson, is introduced she has just moved to Pine Rapids with her new husband Byron. It is 1950 and I find the life of a 1950 housewife funny, she had an apron shower - she has 40 aprons and always wears one that matches her dress when she serves dinner. But at the same time, in today's terms, her husband is a total jerk like when he complains that there were no freshly ironed shirts in his closet for him to wear and that it's Dolly's job to make sure he always has freshly laundered and ironed shirts. They were in fact ironed, but Dolly had forgotten to bring them up from the basement which, in her eyes, was a failure to be a proper wife. 

When Dolly arrives in Pine Rapids the Mickleson house is empty and badly in need of TLC. Dolly believes that if she and Byron could buy that house and she could fix it up that it would improve their marriage and they would be happier than they are living in their small bungalow.

The ensuing story takes us back to the beginning when the house was built and through two generations of the experiences and losses of the Mickleson family. At the same time we follow Dolly to her women's meeting where she learns more about the house via the gossip mill. 

I love books with a twist and this book has one heck of a twist about 3/4 of the way through. 

This is Ellen Baker's first novel and if this is any indication of her writing ability she's going to be a force to be reckoned with by her fellow authors. 

It's up to the reader to ask themselves if the house really is cursed or if the inhabitants used the story of the curse to excuse their bad deeds and behaviours.