Family Lies

FORMERLY PUBLISHSED AS ROSE BEACHHelen (Helly) and Zeke Barton return to Rose Beach for a final summer intent on selling their cottage and moving to Florida. Over a four-day period, secrets and lies are revealed that threaten to destroy their marriage and their relationships with their son, David (who is estranged from Zeke) and their friend Hattie (who is dying of pancreatic cancer). Zeke is battling Parkinson's and Helen is faced with managing his physical and emotional decline. Narrator Helly looks to her past for answers as she works to save her family from unraveling.

FROM Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop author of THE MERCY SEAT, FIREWORKS, THE WHY OF THINGS AND DECEMBER. I can't tell you what an absolute pleasure it was (to read your book). When finally, I put the book down, I felt as if I'd been totally transported to another world, and then returned--sort of the way I feel when coming out of the theatre after being immersed in a really good movie. I was impressed by the book on a number of levels. First of all, your conjuring of place was amazing. I had such a feel for Rose Beach--the cottages and houses, the beach, the bridge. I felt I knew not only the sort of place you were describing but Rose Beach in particular. And your characters! They were so incredibly well developed and complex. Sometimes when I read a book, I feel as if the characters are two-dimensional cutouts acting out the "story" of the novel, almost as if the author isn't quite sure himself of who they are. Your characters seemed much more real to me, and I had no doubt that you, as the author, knew them inside out. I also particularly admired your deft handling of plot and subplot. There was so much going on in the book! The secrets of the past, the conflicts of the present (between Helen and Zeke, between Zeke and David, between Helen and Hattie), the tragedy of Timmy's death, the difficult fact of Zeke's illness. . . not one of these things overshadowed the others, but all played against each other so well. It was as if you were an expert juggler juggling many balls at a time and never once letting one drop. Oftentimes, I find myself struggling with plot and conflict, and so I particularly admired your ability to manage so many threads and pieces at once without resorting to melodrama, and without anything seeming forced or out of place. Anyway, I've found myself thinking about your book and characters all day, so I felt I had to write you a note to let you know. Elizabeth Winthrop