Family Secrets A genealogical quest takes Van back 100 years to the Iowa prairie in search of an ancestor no one has claimedAs Van Reinhardt clears out her fathers belongings she comes across a request penned by her father prior to his death Examining the family portrait of her German immigrant ancestors that he has left her Vanamp8217s curiosity grows about one of the children portrayed thereMeanwhile in the 1870s Kate is a German immigrant newly arrived in America with only her brother as family When she and her brother split she eventually finds her way back to him but with a secretVan revisits the town and the farm of her ancestors to discover calamitous events in probate records farm auction lists asylum records and lurid obituaries hinting at a history far more complex and tumultuous than she had expected But the mystery remains until she changes upon a small book sized for a pocket amp8211 that holds Tante Kateamp8217s secret and provides the missing pieceamp10
