The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery. Amanda Cox. 2021. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: Sarah nudged aside last night's puddle of clothes with her bare foot, the exposed designer label sticking out a bit too much.
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery is a multigenerational saga following three generations of women: Glory Ann (the grandmother), Rosemary (the mother), Sarah (the daughter). If you haven't guessed it from the title, these women each have secrets of varying significance.
Sarah Ashby, our "present day" heroine, has returned to her hometown after being widowed. She's distraught--but not for the reasons you might think. Hence the secret.
Rosemary Anderson, Sarah's mother and Glory Ann's daughter, has a secret as well. What she isn't keeping secret is her desire for her daughter to NOT come home. I'll rephrase that, Rosemary does NOT want her daughter's life to be limited by her small hometown. Not after she's "escaped" once. No, it would be better for Sarah (so she says) that she returns to the big city (Chicago) and go on living life to the fullest. She's also not keeping secret the fact that it is time to sell the family-owned grocery story, Old Depot.
Glory Ann Clearwater, Sarah's grandmother and Rosemary's mother, has a few secrets as well. She loves, loves, loves the store and cares deeply about her family. She adores Sarah. The two are like peas in a pod.
The book alternates time periods and narrators. The present day is almost always focused on Sarah. The past alternates between Glory Ann and Rosemary. The past starts in June 1965.
I really enjoyed so many things about this one. I liked the family. I loved, loved, loved, loved, LOVED Clarence Clearwater. He's a tremendous character. His story arc is HEARTBREAKING. I did enjoy watching these relationships build and rebuild. Plenty of substance.
There was only one major flaw as far as I'm concerned. It's the kind of thing that irritates/frustrates/disappoints me greatly. However, I would imagine most readers couldn't care less. In April 1972, Cox has a young Rosemary (and a younger sister, Jessamine) wear ELMO on their matching outfits. April 1972. 1972. If you guessed that Elmo--the muppet--had not even been constructed let alone voiced by Kevin Clash in April of 1972, you'd be correct. It would have made much more sense if they'd been wearing BIG BIRD sweaters. Elmo "was born" if you will in the 1980s. I believe Kevin Clash gave him his iconic voice and personality circa 1985? 1986? Before he was a background muppet with no distinctive voice or characteristics. Wikipedia lists his first appearance as 1980 in the video We're All Monsters. Again that would have been as a background muppet--a long, long, long stretch from main character.
I was also slightly skeptical that glass bottles would have still been used for Coca Cola in 1982? But for that I remain uncertain.
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