he first met when she walked into his dealership to buy a car, and whom he loves too
much to ask to stay with him in the short
time he has left to live. The story jumps
forward to present-day California, where
Luke Benoit, a college student and patient
of therapist Asha Meisel, is recovering
from a suicide attempt. Lucius realizes the
unthinkable has happened—he inhabited
Luke’s body when Luke attempted suicide.
Lucius tries to convince Asha of his revelation, and though she and her mentor, Dino
Barbieri, understandably have difficulty
believing Lucius’s claims, Asha can’t deny
that the Luke she knew has changed. The
depressed, lax student whom Asha knew
before seems to have completely evolved
into a good student with a positive attitude. In Bunn’s emotional novel, readers
will be particularly swept away by Lucius’s
and Jessica’s love story. (Jan.)
This Could Hurt
Jillian Medoff. Harper, $26.99 (384p)
ISBN 978-0-06-266076-3
Medoff (I Couldn’t Love You More)
past and present, and Hazel spirals through
long-hidden memories. Secondary characters are just as strong as the narrators:
Bonnie’s mother, who treasured her cabin in
the woods; Deb’s husband, whose silence
made him complicit in tragedy; and Bonnie,
who relishes the hurricane’s wrath from a
perch on a bridge. The resulting narrative is
nuanced, poetic, and evocative; MacArthur
empathetically depicts each of her characters
in their wounded but hopeful glory. (Jan.)
Firefly Cove
Davis Bunn. Kensington, $21.95 (304p)
ISBN 978-1-4967-0832-8
Bunn returns to the coastal town of
Miramar Bay, Calif., the setting of 2016’s
Miramar Bay, in this novel rich with redis-
covery. In 1969 Miramar, Lucius
Quarterfield has a threatening heart condi-
tion and leads a solitary existence, but has
nevertheless embraced life through his
business acumen. Though only 28, Lucius
owns 11 car dealerships, yet one of his
greatest joys is his relationship with beau-
tiful and outspoken Jessica Waverly, whom
captivating, moving story of drastic mea-
sures, failed schemes, and the loss of inno-
cence. Agent: Julie Barer, The Book Group.
(Jan.)
★ Heart Spring Mountain
Robin MacArthur. Ecco, $25.99 trade paper
(368p) ISBN 978-0-06-244442-4
Three generations of women seek comfort
and closure in storm-wracked Vermont in
this tender debut novel by MacArthur (after
the story collection Half Wild). When
heroin addict and mother Bonnie goes
missing during 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene,
her daughter, Vale, leaves a bartending job
in New Orleans to return to the small town
of her birth and find her. Still living on the
family’s mountain are Bonnie’s nonagenarian aunt and once-guardian, Hazel, and
widowed cousin-in-law, Deb. Although
Vale’s return is welcome, it churns up their
own resentments about living such an isolated existence. The novel is told from each
of their perspectives: Vale digs for family
lore before it is lost to the passage of time
and death, Deb confronts tragedies of the
“An evocative, involving novel about how mystical powers can
complicate one’s life.”
“The author’s depiction of the simplicity and beauties of
life in rural Appalachia are semipoetical highlights of the
novel.” — Kirkus Reviews
Believe
BY ANNALIESE DARR
“This very special story will touch your heart and pull
you in.” — Chanticle Women’s Fiction Award
Winn