In 1893, Mary Anne Schlegel disappears after running away from her home in Birch Falls, Minnesota, to escape her overbearing father. More than 100 years later, adoptee Rachel Connolly goes to this same northern Minnesota town in search of her roots. Meanwhile, Luke Chapman, after killing his wife, Grace, in a rage, also goes to Birch Falls to locate his daughter, Linnet, who is in line to collect part of the Schlegel fortune, along with Linnet's grandfather, Jackson, longtime caretaker of the Schlegel family home. Chapman is followed by Detective James Florian, who is determined to find Grace's killer. Rachel, who unknowingly may upset Luke's and Jackson's plans for the Schlegel inheritance, digs deeply into the Schlegel family history and finds that her life is in danger as old secrets are revealed. Partly set in a mysterious old house in the bleak far north as winter closes in and told from multiple points of view, both past and present, this fast-paced, compelling story resolves both mysteries and ends on a hopeful note.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist

An 1893 missing-person case has unexpected repercussions more than a century later in Pirrone's intriguing debut. In Birch Falls, Minn., 12-year-old Linnet Chapman is waiting for her mother, Grace Chapman, to join her and her grandfather, Jackson Schlegel, who looks after but doesn't own the Schlegel manse. Sadly, Linnet's abusive father, Luke Chapman, has already murdered Grace in Chicago. The 1904 will of mining magnate Andrew Jackson Schlegel, who died in 1907, contains a surprising bequest that could make Linnet very rich, ditto any others who can prove they're blood kin. Enter writer Rachel Connolly, an adoptee in search of her roots, who discovers that her late birth mother was related to the Schlegels. Rachel goes to Birch Falls and meets Linnet, who's found the diary of her great-grandmother, Mary Anne Schlegel, the key to understanding how Mary's disappearance during the Columbian World's Exposition in 1893 connects to Rachel and Linnett. Readers will hope to see more historical crime fiction from Pirrone, the nom de plume of Diane Piron-Gelman. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.