The ties that bind us--to our families, to our pasts--are at the heart of this rich and engrossing novel.  Musical prodigy Venus Arinelli saw her promising future as a classical pianist shattered when her father was charged with complicity in a terrible act of violence and died in jail.  Now, at twenty-nine, Venus wears her survival skills like a suit of armor.  And when a stranger emerges from... (read more)