The Garden House
by Linda Mahkovec
Love, longing, and gripping suspense are set among the sensuous flowers and lush summer evenings of Seattle in this atmospheric, page-turning novel. Themes of gardens and forgotten secrets bring to mind the novels of Kate Morton, while the importance of home and family is reminiscent of Maeve Binchy. When Miranda's two children leave home, her sense of loss is intensified by a void in her own life journey. She has set aside her dreams of becoming an artist for far too long. In an attempt to rekindle the beauty and passion of her youth, she fixes up the garden house as a studio—only to discover her husband has rented it out for the summer to a shy, mysterious young man. Soon after his arrival, Miranda begins to have disturbing dreams. Her friends dismiss them. Her husband blames them on the teen shelter Miranda has recently visited. Is she simply experiencing a mid-life crisis? Perhaps empty-nest syndrome? But Miranda is convinced her dreams have meaning,...