From the publisher:
She returned to prove her father’s innocence, but there’s no telling what she’ll find…
It’s been fifteen years since Lucy Sinclair saw her father. Fifteen long years since she sat in a courtroom and watched him sentenced to life in prison. He murdered three victims—all people she knew—which ruined her life at just seventeen. But now she’s back in Virginia to talk to him, wondering if there’s more to the story of what happened that fateful night.
An old flame, Ford Wagner, makes his own return to North Hampton Beach, fleeing a marriage that seems destined for divorce. He’s wary of Lucy and her digging into the past, but the more time they spend together, the closer they get and the more he finds himself reconsidering the truth behind the death of their mutual friend that summer. Problem is, there are plenty of those in this small coastal town who would prefer things stay quiet…
Lucy was seventeen when her father was convicted of murdering three people in their small town. The conviction shattered her world—the townspeople turned against her, and she felt forced to flee. She hasn’t returned home or spoken to her father in fifteen years.
Now, haunted by unanswered questions about that terrible summer, Lucy decides to return to uncover the truth she’s never understood.
The town has always drawn wealthy summer residents to their sprawling beachfront homes, and Ford is among them this year. He’s come back to prepare his family’s house for sale while grappling with his impending divorce. Fifteen years ago, he and Lucy had shared an intense but brief romance during that fateful summer. Though they’d fallen hard for each other, Ford abandoned Lucy when his family pressured him to cut ties after her father’s arrest—a decision that has haunted him ever since.
When Ford discovers Lucy has returned, his protective instincts flare. The townspeople make their hostility clear, especially as Lucy begins asking dangerous questions about the past. What begins as renewed friendship deepens into something more as Ford joins Lucy’s search for answers.
While a bit slow and somewhat repetitive in the beginning, as the story unfurls, it becomes much more engaging. This second-chance romance weaves together mystery and passion as two former lovers investigate the crimes that tore their world apart. The combination of coastal intrigue and rekindled love creates a compelling story of redemption, truth, and the courage to face the past.
8/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING by Brenda Novak. MIRA (June 3, 2025). ISBN: 978-0778360162. 368p.
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