Summerland Cove - by Ellen Baker (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Apples Never Fall meets Maine in this captivating novel of family secrets, summer celebrations, and putting things back together again after they've all fallen apart-- from the acclaimed author of The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson.

Lindy has the summer of a lifetime planned at her family's beloved cottage in Summerland Cove, Maine, where she's spent summers all her life and where she and her husband David met as teenagers. She's slated big events three weekends in a row: David's fiftieth birthday party, her parents' fiftieth anniversary party, and her oldest daughter Hailey's wedding. But when David doesn't show up for his own party, everything about the life they've created together is thrown into question, as the shattered family sets out looking for him. Has he been in an accident? God forbid, been the victim of a crime? Or is it something more cliché--a midlife crisis, an affair? Surely, he'll show up for his beloved daughter's wedding--won't he?

The agonizing days tick by and still no David. Lindy's four nearly grown children are panicked. Lindy struggles to remain calm, even as long-buried details of the family's past begin to surface, offering distressing clues. Meanwhile, her mother seems to be harboring secrets of her own, her father has grown alarmingly absent-minded, and Hailey wrestles with whether she should get married at all--even if her father does turn up.

A richly drawn novel of mothers, marriages, and one endearingly messy family, Summerland Cove beautifully evokes the crisp air and rocky beaches of coastal Maine, while poignantly revealing how complicated histories can shape the present in unexpected ways.

Review Quotes

"A sweeping tale of love and loss." -- People on The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

"A family secret, a DNA test, a journey as rich and colorful as the early-day circus itself. Through Cecily Larson's hidden life, Ellen Baker tenderly examines personal determination, lost love, family ties, and our innate need to discover our own truth." -- Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours and Before and After

"I immensely enjoyed this sweeping, heartrending, emotional roller coaster of a tale, which made me laugh, cry, and think about the true meaning of family." -- Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Daughter, on The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

"An engaging, multigenerational family saga...Baker deftly weaves the lives of three generations of Larson women into a moving tale of secrets, identity, and found family." -- Booklist on The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson