“Evil Woman”

 

Two things jumped out at me as I read Mulhern’s latest Country Club Murder:

“Mothers saw their daughters as reflections of themselves. Daughters looked for criticism in compliments.” (21)

So, if you stand up to a strong, perhaps overbearing mother, does that mean you are a strong woman? A reflection of her? How do you balance being a dutiful daughter and the independent woman you are? How do you take the criticism in stride? How does this “reflection” affect your relationship with your siblings? How do you keep from screaming?

“Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. But studying history doesn’t work…the same mistakes are made. Over and over and over again. (139)

Families are strange this way. History tells us our origin story. Where we came from, where we’ve been. But history doesn’t tell us where we will land. History can only educate if we are open to learning its lessons. Oftentimes, we throw our past out, hoping to reshape our future. But, is our past linked to our DNA? Doomed to create the same mistakes as our ancestors? How can we change our path? What do we need to learn from history to make an impact on the future?

Ellison. Anarchy. Grace. Aggie. Francis. Mr. Coffee. Murder. Twists. Resolution…