The Guest Book

Whalen, novelist (The Mailbox) and member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing team, offers another summery tale sure to evoke tears and memories of lost dreams. Macy Dillon—with daughter Emma, mother Brenda, and brother Max—celebrate father Darren Dillon’s birthday yearly, even a decade after his death. But Brenda Dillon’s request that they return to Time in a Bottle, the beachside cottage they’d visited each year, threatens their hard-won equilibrium. Macy uses the vacation to reassess feelings for Emma’s father, Chase, yet still dreams of meeting the artist she exchanged drawings with each year in the cottage’s guest book until she stopped coming. The beach vacation turns into a life-changing event when three men express interest in Macy, she comes to terms with her anger at God, and nearly misses fulfilling her dream. Readers will enjoy the mystery of Macy’s long-lost artist, and appreciate the characters’ journeys to wholeness. Agent: Esther Fedorkevich, the Fedd Agency. (July)