LasCruces, NM

When Haze Evans first appeared in the small-town newspaper, she earned fans by writing a story about her bachelor uncle who brought a Queen of the Rodeo to Thanksgiving dinner. Now, 50 years later, when the beloved columnist suffers a massive stroke and falls into a coma, publisher Susan McGrath fills the void (temporarily, she hopes) with Haze's past columns, along with the occasional reprinted responses from readers. Most letters were favorable, although Haze did have her trolls; one Joseph Snell in particular dubbed her "liberal" ideas the "chronicles of a radical hag."

Earnest. It's the perfect name for a sweet, eager-to-please yellow Labrador retriever. Anna and her boyfriend Jeff fall for him the minute they see those guileless eyes gazing up from behind his gate at Seattle's Best Friends Shelter. In no time at all, they're a pack of three, with Earnest happily romping in their condo on Gamble Island. During the day, Earnest keeps Anna company in her flower shop, located in a historic gingerbread Victorian on the island's main street.

As a teenager, Emma Killian didn’t recognize what a remarkable business her family had created, and so she moved away. Now, her father’s tragic death has brought her home to face a mountain of secrets, debts, and questions about why and how her beloved father died. As Emma grapples with her out-of-control family, the responsibility of keeping Flamingo Diner afloat, and a pair of well-meaning senior-citizen sleuths, she finds support from an unlikely source.

Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again. But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island.