by Margaret Meacham

Once upon a time, Sarah Landing, forty-year-old mother of three, was a successful picture book author/artist. But that was before the death of her husband three years earlier. Now she is blocked, and running out of money faster than her growth-spurting fourteen-year-old son can empty the fridge.

Sarah teaches “The Art of the Picture Book” at the local arts center, and when she receives a beautiful manuscript from someone enrolled in her class, she is captivated by the work and eager to help the artist publish. Soon after they meet, the artist disappears, and is later found dead, and Sarah is drawn into the mystery.

While Sarah attempts to understand what happened to Louisa Myner, someone else is attempting to find out how much Sarah knows. Unbeknownst to Sarah and her kids, someone is watching them, and he doesn’t like what he sees.

The story is set on the Eastern Shore of Maryland which is beautiful and isolated and where fishing and boating are part of the culture.