The Sisters

A daughter secretly infiltrates an Oregon cult to save her mother in this harrowing tale from Noonan (Domestic Secrets). When mid-20s Glory leaves her two daughters—five-year-old Ruby and toddler Aurora—at a fire station, she thinks she is making the right choice. To escape poverty, she has turned to the charming Leo, a man known for taking in local destitute women, who demanded she give up the kids. Following his orders, she moves to a secluded house to begin her life as one of “the Sisters,” a cult of women manipulated and dominated by Leo. Meanwhile, Ruby is raised by loving adoptive parents, but remains troubled by the woman who gave her and her sister up. Upon turning 16, Ruby sets out to find her mother. What she finds is a house surrounded by rumors and shrouded in secrets; she also discovers that she has a nine-year-old half-sister, Luna. When Ruby is finally able to slip in and speak to Glory, they seize the chance to break free. Told in three sections from Glory, Ruby, and Luna’s perspectives, the story takes on nuance as events are reconsidered from different vantage points. Thanks to its twisted plot and courageous characters, Noonan’s portrait of the love between a mother and daughter is irresistible. (Dec.)