"The Last House Before the Mountain" is a very moving and heartfelt story of several generations—their loves, losses, and secrets. I read it in two sittings and couldn’t put it down. Anyone interested in the exploration of family history and family secrets will love this beautiful story and love the way it unfolds.

The characters are colorful and genuine. Her descriptions of all the members of the Bagage family (as they are called by the villagers) and others in the community like the postman, the mayor and the priest are brilliant. I became attached and keenly interested in each of them. If I were to make a list of each character while I was reading the novel, by the time I got to the end I would be able to describe them in detail. I didn’t do that, however, because I was so interested in seeing how they all ended up. Compelling and compassionate best describes my feelings about this novel.