A Happier Life - by Kristy Woodson Harvey

About the Book

"A young woman discovers the love and family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer at her grandparents' old house in North Carolina"--

Book Synopsis

"New York Times bestselling author and southern sensation Kristy Woodson Harvey" (Good Morning America) presents a touching novel about eternal love and the places we call home.

The historic houses in the seaside town of Beaufort, North Carolina, have held the secrets of their inhabitants for centuries. One of the most enduring refuses to be washed away by the tide: What happened to Rebecca and Townsend Saint James on that fateful night of their disappearance in 1976?

Now, the granddaughter they never knew, Keaton Smith, is desperate for a fresh start. So when her mother needs someone to put her childhood home in Beaufort on the market, she jumps at the chance to head south. But the moment she steps foot inside the abandoned house, which has been closed for nearly fifty years, she wonders if she's bitten off more than she can chew. Wading through the detritus of her grandparents' lives, Keaton finds herself enchanted by their southern traditions--and their great, big love. As she gets to know her charming next-door neighbor, his precocious ten-year-old son, and a flock of endearingly feisty town busybodies, Keaton begins to wonder if the stories she has been told about her grandparents are true.

Keaton's grandmother, Rebecca "Becks" Saint James's annual summer suppers are the stuff of legend, and locals and out-of-towners alike clamor for an invitation to her stunning historic home. But, in the summer of 1976, she's struggling behind the facade of the woman who can do it all--and facing a problem that even she can't solve.

As Keaton and Becks face new challenges and chapters, they are connected through time by the house on Sunset Lane, which has protected the secrets, hopes, and dreams of their family for generations.

"The novel to read this year" (Annabel Monaghan) explores the power of family, the boundless nature of love, and the idea that discovering where we came from just might lead us to A Happier Life.

Review Quotes

"This is women's fiction at its best."-- "Publisher's Weekly"

A beautiful, big-hearted book that had me furiously flipping pages to solve the mystery! Full of Southern charm and characters that will stay with you. A magnificent read!
----Jennifer Probst, New York Times bestselling author

Everything about this novel reminded me of drinking sweet tea on a warm summer's night while relaxing on a wide Southern porch, a ceiling fan slowly turning the air overhead. I smiled as I read the first page and breathed a contented sigh as I read the last--because A HAPPIER LIFE made me happier, too. Don't miss it! ----Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author of Tourist Season

If you love small towns, Southern charm, romance, family sagas, or murder mysteries, this novel needs to be in your beach bag. I loved it. ----Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author

Kristy Woodson Harvey has the voice of a best friend; a storyteller of the finest sort. ----Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author

Kristy Woodson Harvey takes a family of broken people and puts them back together with her signature humor and wisdom. Beautifully written and deeply emotional, A HAPPIER LIFE is a family mystery wrapped in a love story and is also a gracious nod to tradition and the people who came before us. This is the novel to read this year. ----Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author of Same Time Next Summer

With A Happier Life, Kristy Woodson Harvey takes us to a mysterious long-abandoned house on Sunset Lane, where family secrets whisper forth from the woodwork, summoning readers to partake of a dazzling buffet of old heartaches, friendship, family lore and yes, a second chance at love. A Happier Life is that wistful, sparkling summer song whose notes will long linger in reader's memories.----Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Summers at the Saint and The Homewreckers

About the Author

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of thirteen novels, including Beach House Rules and the Peachtree Bluff series. A Happier Life is in development for film with MGM/Amazon, The Summer of Songbirds is in development for television with Hulu, and many of her other projects are in various stages of option or development for film and television. Her work has received numerous accolades, including Good Morning America's Buzz Pick, Southern Living's Most Anticipated Reads, Katie Couric's Featured Books, and JoAnna Garcia Swisher's The Happy Place Reads. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Southern Living, Parade, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, and many more. Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the hit weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction with fellow New York Times bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, and Patti Callahan Henry. She is also the cofounder of the award-winning interiors site Design Chic, with her mom, Beth Woodson. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband, son, and dog, Salt, where she is (always!) working on her next novel.