Love Water Memory

As the warmly emotional new novel from Shortridge (When She Flew) begins, Lucie Walker finds herself in the San Francisco Bay with no idea of who she is or how she got there. Despite her amnesia, Lucie’s doctors are able to locate her fiancé, Grady, with whom she returns home to Seattle, Wash. As Lucie starts to piece together her former identity, she discovers a person she doesn’t like very much, while it becomes clear that Grady is keeping certain aspects of their relationship secret. But the more she learns, the more she risks unlocking memories buried since childhood. Fans of Shortridge’s work will appreciate this touching story of a woman who recovers her identity while also realizing the cost of repression. They’ll have to swallow some implausible plot turns and dubious character motivations along the way, but most will likely be too interested in Lucie’s slowly unfolding backstory to mind. Agent: Stephanie Kip Rostan, the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (Apr.)