The Secret Library of Hanna Reeves : A Novel

An antiques dealer and an enigmatic heiress embark on a revelatory friendship in a haunting and hopeful novel about family ties, secrets, and belonging by the bestselling author of A Heart Like Home. Cautious Claire Shelton, employee at a Maine antique shop, is surprised when she’s recruited to catalog the treasures of reclusive Hanna Reeves, sole descendant of the state’s most colorful shipbuilders and industrialists. Hanna’s retreat from society years ago is just one of many mysteries behind the walls of Rose Hill, her fabled estate. Settling into Rose Hill’s carriage house, Claire finds Hanna, nearing eighty, to be a still-formidable woman. She’s demanding, judgmental, and protective of a mansion that is a veritable shrine to her ancestors. Then, diving into her work, Claire discovers a hidden library that is the stuff of legend among locals. An avid booklover, Claire is in heaven. More enthralling are Hanna’s leather-bound family journals that open Claire up to the past—and soon forge a rich and unexpected bond between two very different women. A legacy is coming to light. All of Maine is talking. Because the revelations in the journals are enlightening enough to unite old friends, lovers, and families. And shocking enough to tear them apart forever.