In art, the place where parallel lines meet on the horizon is called the vanishing point. Mary Sharratt’s novel is about the difference between how things appear and how things really are.

At first, sisters Mary and Hannah seem to live lives that are more like diverging lines than parallel ones. May, the older, wilder, and beautifully sensuous sister samples men like sweets at a fair. When her sexual appetite ruins her marital prospects in England, she is sent to Maryland to wed a distant cousin. Hannah’s looks don’t rival her sister’s and her calm demeanor and sweet steady nature seem the exact opposite of the lusty Mary’s, but Hannah secret training in medicine make her as uncommon and as socially unacceptable as her sister.

After their father’s death, Hannah follows May to Maryland. Their anticipated joyful reunion is dashed when Hannah is told her beloved sister is dead. Bereft and alone, Hannah finds herself falling in love with her widower brother-in-law. But there are secrets and lies in this new country. May’s fate may not have been what it first appeared. Hannah’s quest for answers draws the sisters' lives to the vanishing point, the place where they appear to meet but never really do.

Mary Sharratt’s Vanishing Point is a compelling and distinctly satisfying historical that is heavy on the suspense. I found myself rooting for each of the main characters even when their lives and beliefs were in direct conflict. I enjoyed this book and particularly loved the way the title took on a variety of meanings as the book progressed.