Coast of Maine Books

After the death of her only daughter and the subsequent breakup of her marriage, Margaret Collingwood returns to her home in Coffins Reach, Maine, and to the seafront house she has inherited. She goes there to rest, to paint, and to find the God she has lost. Instead, she is thrust back twenty-five years and must relive the accidental death of her sister and face her family's long-buried secrets. The old family home shrouded in the secrets of the past... When Margaret Collinwood inherits her childhood home in Coffins Reach, Maine, she returns to the seafront house hoping to rest, to paint, and to find the peace she has lost after the death of her daughter and the subsequent breakup of her marriage. But Margaret's return to her family home forces her to face difficult childhood memories surrounding the fatal accicdent that took the life of her sister twenty-five years earlier. As Margaret begins to examine the past, strange things start happening in the present. As she moves between her childhood memories,the ghostly legends surrounding her historic house, and the trendy cafes of the Maine coast, Margaret uncovers the truth hidden in long-buried family secrets. And in facing the past, she finds new hope for her future.

On a morning in late summer Peter Glass arrives on the island, tired, sick and fleeing for his life. He meets Naomi, Zoe, and Jo. In a matter of only a few hours he develops a special friendship with Jo. When Jo is found murdered the following day, Peter is devastated. Into this mix Philip returns with promises to Naomi and Zoe that he will stay with them this time. Even though she has heard all of this before, she still hopes. As the police begin their rather extensive investigation, two states over Margot begins her own investigation of Jo, her former houseguest. What she discovers shatters her to her very core and intertwines the lives of the island dwellers as they seek to make peace with themselves, their lives, and God. Eventually he would find a place where ghosts didn't batter his nights... Peter Glass arrives one summer morning on a small island off the coast of Maine — tired, sick, and fleeing for his life. He finds refuge in an abandoned church and soon develops a special friendship with a young woman named Jo. But Peter's safe haven is shattered by tragedy when Jo is found murdered. Amidst the turmoil of suspicion, shock, and grief, Peter comes face-to-face with a host of the island's quirky inhabitants — the woman who waits for her rarely seen husband, the boatbuilder who still mourns for his dead wife the former pastor who lives in the church, and the elderly woman who is confidant to the island dwellers. Then Margot Douglas, proprietor of a Vermont fabric shop, begins her own investigation of the murder of Jo, her former housegueast. What Margot discovers shatters her to the core as she and the island's inhabitants seek to make peace with themsleves, their pasts, and God.

Interweaving elements of mystery and suspense with a message of hope, Linda Hall's seventh novel brings healing to those wounded by legalism in the church. In Katheryn's Secret, mystery writer Sharon Colebrook finds herself the unexpected recipient of her deceased Aunt Katie's journals -- and hopes to learn about a murder Katie had hinted at years before. But as Sharon and her husband, Jeff, begin to investigate, the carefully kept facade of her strict religious family begins to crumble. Secrets, long buried, begin to surface -- and only God's grace can put this family back together again. A murder mystery...A fractured family...Evil intentions. Can one woman pull the pieces together? When Sharon Colebrook was a child, she listened to all of eccentric Aunt Katie's whimsical, half-true stories. But it's the unfinished tale of a murder that intrigues her most. After her aunt dies, Sharon, now a successful mystery writer, decides to write Katie's life story. Her research uncovers the strict, religious family's secrets, and its carefully kept facade begins to crumble. What fears haunt Doreen, the family's longtime maid? Was there a murder — and who was behind it? What has happened to Dean, Sharon's errant brother? In the end, only God's grace can put this family back together again.

Linda Hall's thrilling fiction, which confronts the toll domestic violence takes within American homes and explores how the church might address it, melds contemporary characters with a powerful story's punch. Sadie's Song opens with the disappearance of nine-year-old Ally Buckley, which bears too much resemblance to two recent and chilling events. As fear spreads throughout the New England fishing village of Bowden's Landing and the local church that Sadie and her family attend, she discovers a drawing by Ally among her abusive husband's possessions-and odd evidence that danger may be closer to home than she'd ever known. A mysterious disappearance...A family in tumult...Volatile surroundings...Can one woman connct the pieces in time? When nine-year-old Ally Buckley turns up missing, fear spreads throughout the New England fishing village where Sadie and her family live and worship. But when Saide discovers one of Ally's drawings among her husband's possessions, she suspects danger may be closer to home than she had ever known.