Maryanne O’Hara. Cascade. Viking, 2012. ISBN  978-0670026029. 368 pp. $26.95

While the main character makes some ethically questionable choices ranging from adultery to exploitation of her town’s pending disappearance due to the creation of the Quabbin reservoir in turn of the century Massachusetts, this does NOT make for a bad book! Cascade is unputdownable as the reader wonders what the heck is going to happen next to an unhappy artist who should have pursued art first and love second.

Cascade is a great character driven book, with wonderful period details that reflect how little influence and power women had — not that long ago.