Warning: DO NOT pick up this book to read on an airplane. It prominently features and keeps revisiting a tragic plane crash in incredible detail. returnreturnThis was one of those books that I couldn't put down. It centers around a family in the midst of tragedy that buys an old Victorian House in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. They are desperate for a fresh start, so it's not until they move in that they notice the strange door in the basement that's has been securely covered using 39 carriage bolts. The father, with PTSD and some features of depression and psychosis, is staying at home to fix up the house and becomes obsessed with knowing what's on the other side of this door. returnreturnThe town of Bethel seems a bit unusual as well. There's a large group of women that all have names that are flowers or herbs (Sage and Clary, for example) and they all own beautiful greenhouses teeming with exotic and domestic plants. Some say they are witches. The women take special interest in the children of this new family - twin girls - and take them under their wings to teach them their knowledge about the plants that they so carefully cultivate.returnreturnThis novel's plot is constantly moving forward and I found myself breathless in so many places. The description of the plane crash is so vivid, as are the thoughts and fears of the passengers and pilot aboard. As a new mother, my heart broke for some of the passengers and their stories, and I found myself tearful and hugging my babies a little closer. returnreturnThis was my first Bohjalian, and if his other novels are anything like this one, it won't be my last.