Peyton Keller’s whole life is about to change in a few short months. Besides heading off to college, she’s helping her grandparents (the only parents she’s ever known) pack up and prepare to move into assisted living. While cleaning, Peyton discovers the diaries of her late mother, Beth. In addition to never learning the identity of her biological father, Peyton has also never found out who killed her mother. Before she goes off to college, and with the help of best friend Tristan and new friend Chance, she’s determined to solve both of these cold cases—fully aware that her father and Beth’s killer could be the same person.

Rochelle Ransom’s ‘TILL BETH DO US PART proceeds across two timelines. In 2023, Peyton navigates a relationship with college student Oliver, while Tristan (the son of Beth’s best friend Kelsey) tries to exit a bad relationship and pursue Chance. 20 years prior, Beth pursues one one-night-stand after another as Kelsey pursues Ryland, who will eventually become Tristan’s father. As Peyton paces herself throughout the story, savoring this new connection with the mother she never knew, the actions of Beth and those around her begin to influence relationships in the modern day. Before long, everyone from friends and family to the local priest are implicated in one way or another, and Peyton must decide whether she wants to continue seeking out the answers she craves at the risk of potentially destroying her relationships with them.

When a book balances as many story threads as ‘TILL BETH DO US PART, the result is often confusion at best, stray unresolved storylines at worst. However, Ransom manages to pin and organize every last red thread, bringing multiple lives and indiscretions together into one final, satisfying set of answers. As the book progresses, readers will find themselves playing sleuth alongside Peyton and her friends; but even the red herrings have their own resolutions, a rarity for novels like this. The book’s only flaw is the occasional long series of unattributed back-and-forth dialogue, leading at one point to the speakers becoming mixed up. However, this small misstep is vastly overshadowed by the book’s strengths. It’s an emotionally challenging read for anyone with a background similar to Peyton’s, so it’s fair to go in forewarned. But these difficult topics are handled with equal parts empathy and reality, leading to an ultimately satisfying and uplifting conclusion.

Rochelle Ransom’s ‘TILL BETH DO US PART skillfully balances drama, intrigue, and the struggles of grief across multiple interconnected storylines. However, this intricate web never collapses, with everything eventually coming together to make a satisfying conclusion.

~Kara Dennison for IndieReader