Stockett’s characters come alive as they tell their story; they are people you really come to know. The conversational pace has you comfortably living in each scene while an ever-building intrigue draws you on. Surprising revelations show how we tend to misjudge people and leave us more understanding towards them.

This is a book for adults—several episodes (and characters too) are a little on the rough side. There is no impossibly happy ending offering a solution too simple for the problem—the story is far too real for that; but its extraordinary value is found in the strength of three women who are not afraid of sacrifice.

It leaves you in admiration of the author who has been as courageous and ingenious as her protagonists in setting out their story so effectively.