The sleepy, small town of Denton, South Carolina, possesses the tranquil life Cara Baker craves, but will her reclusive tenant shake up her newfound serenity?
Newly minted librarian Cara Baker effectively cuts ties with her tumultuous life as a Pittsburgh District Attorney and moves down to South Carolina, where she embraces the peaceful, laid-back style of small town living. Everything seems to be falling into place when Cara finds the perfect house to round out her new plans. Well … perfect except for the immovable hermit living on the top floor. She throws caution to the wind and buys the fabulous house—hermit and all—without meeting him. Eventually, by wooing her reclusive renter with notes and mouthwatering meals, he caves and invites her up to the apartment. Preconceived notions are blown out of the water, when she finds Danny isn’t the Mr. Mole she envisioned, and Cara sets out to help him reenter the society.
Unfortunately, phone calls from her past bring Cara’s summer idyll to an abrupt halt. Will demons from a former life destroy her tranquility?
Assessment:
Cara comes to Denton, S.C., to escape her past. She falls in love with a house and is undeterred in its purchase by the reclusive tenant that is part of the deal. What follows is a work that knows what it wants to be and nicely achieves it. What feels initially like a straightforward romance becomes more interesting when the past intrudes, raising the stakes. Plot, character and setting are each well imagined and nicely executed in a story that moves at a page-turning clip.
Date Submitted: July 18, 2016
