Description
There's a filigree setting for every family secret.
Richard and Gail Finch designed their estate to carry consequences for their children's misplaced loyalties over a lifetime, but there are consequences neither one bargained for. When the third generation aims for a cache of treasure, someone is expendable.
All Elsie covets is the truth. Risking everything, she unfolds her parents' legacy to reveal the spoiling and their calculated detachments. Then her father dies leaving her sister alone in a dilapidated house with recorded notebooks to decipher.
Untying the family Finch saga with mother's blistering tales, Elsie's own timeline helps them compare layers of animosity and motives for the punishments that created full-blown personality disorders. Richardson and Gail's unscrupulous affections span the geography of San Francisco Bay, Phoenix Arizona, Oklahoma City, and finally slip into the shadow of the Rockies. Will someone pay for the past? Who wins in this long game, and what remains?
Redemption is won only by the very brave.
Certain poetry transforms Elsie's stages of grief.
Praise for Elsie Finch
BookLife Prize: "Alluring and convincing, this multigenerational work has an unusual premise and there's a grandness to the scope. . . An epic accomplishment."
"...brave and startlingly candid; Elsie Finch is lodged in my heart of hearts...Her character manages to explore the darker side of human foibles-while at the same time weaving in a bright thread of hope." - Kathy Hoffner, Editor
"Some families leave legacies of positivity and gifts. Others leave behind angst and confusion. Lynn Byk writes with a lyrical hand that captures passion and emotion with equal aplomb." - D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"It's a long healing for Elsie, as most of ours are. But in this courageous, unblinking portrayal of the human condition, Elsie gradually discovers truth, forgiveness, and hope practical and relevant to Christians and non-Christians alike. It's unconventional, this book-and the characters are still giving me pause." - Cheryl Bostrom, Author of SUGAR BIRDS
"THE FEARLESS MORAL INVENTORY OF ELSIE FINCH by Lynn Byk is a bold, brutally honest multigenerational family saga that also offers opportunities for introspection on matters regarding family relationships and how our actions influence and impact others around us.
"The story also offers important discussions about how dysfunction, trauma, and personality disorders affect a family. Readers will benefit from its many essential life lessons including its deft coverage of the effects of parental favoritism and sibling rivalry. Lynn Byk's compelling novel is a remarkable work. It is cleverly written." - Edith Wairimu, Readers' Favorite
"The work of a peacemaker is not easy. The narrative is soothing, the timeline is perfect, and the pace, remarkable. The Fearless Moral Inventory of Elsie Finch is riveting and fascinating. I was obsessed with this story and highly recommend it." - Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
Author: Lynn Byk
Publisher: Capture Books
Published: 01/07/2023
Pages: 462
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.48lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.03d
ISBN13: 9781951084554
ISBN10: 1951084551
Large Print
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Family Life | Siblings
- Fiction | Christian | Contemporary