Daniela Vaduva has lived with her mother for 28 years. Ema Vaduva left Romania when she was nineteen and pregnant. Daniela has a son who dies from an aggressive type of pediatric cancer. Her mother is her rock that gets her through this. One day, Ema dies and leaves Dani all alone with just a neighbor that checks in on her daily. Dani finally decides that it’s time to go through her mom’s things. A brown box in the closet holds the key to Ema’s past life in Romania and perhaps the secret to Dani’s parentage. Can Dani find the truth to her past from the clues left behind?

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. I guess I was thinking it would be an historical fiction. I was very pleasantly surprised to see this was a women’s fiction set in today’s time. I loved the characters in this book. Dr Cal is someone I would love to meet. Estelle made me cry. The relationship Dani has with her co-workers at the restaurant comes across as very real and genuine. Once I started this one, I just flew through it. I couldn’t wait to see what clue Dani would discover next. The only thing that bugged me, is how could one person be such a magnet for all this trouble? I know that it is certainly within the realm of possibility, but maybe one bad thing too many happened to her. Overall, I loved this work, and intend on looking into some of her other works. I see she has a series called Bishop Street and I will look into those. Four out of five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.