This is a rather low-key horror story that has some lovely images scattered throughout; images of life on the Montana plains in the early twentieth-century that are uniquely about women.  The story seems to be about one woman in particular but ends up encompassing many more.

Adelaide set her farm home on fire after her parents died.  She packed a steamer trunk and fled California for the unknown wilds of Montana; dragging the heavy steamer trunk and obsessing over protecting it.  With few resources to her name but a claim staked to her, she managed to find help in getting to her land; but not without risks.  But the risks aren’t to her, they are to everyone she travels with.  There is no one to whom she can confide what is in her trunk.  And anything that happens to someone curious enough to try and open it, is on them, in her mind.  They should have minded their own business.

As a lone black woman living in a shack outside of town, she gets a lot of interest.  She makes a friend of another lone woman and meets others who have made a life for themselves.  The town is pretty much run by a couple; the richest family in town.  And as such, the woman had taken it upon herself to decide what is best for the town.  And until Adelaide came along, there was no one to gainsay her.

But Adelaide has spent her entire life harboring a horrific secret and believing that she would never ever have a real life with friends; so having that dangled in front of her and then snatched away did tend to upset her.  She found unlikely support from women who didn’t shy away in horror at her confession. She started to believe that maybe she could make peace with her family history and even find a way to help other lone women who needed the same support and hope.  But everything hinged on what happened after the trunk was opened and smashed…and what escaped.  And who survived…

This was a pleasant travelogue and small mystery about what Adelaide carried in her trunk.  My rational mind really wanted to know more about how she survived the winter but it wasn’t really necessary for the story.  For what it really is about, is how women can have a story without men in it.  Or, if they do have a walk-on role, it’s only for color.  They can imagine their own lives, make their own decisions (right or wrong) and accept consequences; and no man is riding to their rescue.  This is how reality actually works and I rather imagine this scenario happened more than once during the building of this nation.

I, along with other readers, spent most of the book wondering what was in the trunk as the author didn’t give anything away until nearly the end.  I did not guess the correct answer so was pleasantly surprised to be surprised.  It had an almost happily-ever-after ending; at least it was for those who survived.  I liked the Shangri-La-esque flavor.   ~~ Catherine Book

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