Secrets on Cedar Key

December 15, 2013
When a recent widow learns a shocking secret about her husband, she books a trip to Paris, hoping the time and distance will give her an opportunity to sort out her options, never expecting that the trip will give her a new chance at forgiveness and love. After the death of her husband, Marin moves back to the Florida island of Cedar Key, going into business with her mother, Dora, who owns the local yarn shop. Together, they have decided to take over the shop next door and expand into more needle crafts. As work begins on the new space, their contractor falls ill, and Dora and Marin learn that a wealthy neighbor does the occasional renovation project and that he is happy to help them out. Working together brings Marin and Worth close, and friendship and an attraction grow, one Marin will come to rely on as she learns that her husband had been unfaithful and left behind a 19-year-old daughter, Fiona. Marin decides to take a vacation to Paris to contemplate her options and decide how she might move forward and tell her grown sons about this new development. When she mentions that she's having a hard time finding a hotel, Worth offers to let her use the apartment he owns in Paris and then decides to join her for part of her trip. Romance blooms, and when they return to Cedar Key, Marin feels prepared to deal with putting her bitterness behind her, while navigating how to integrate her husband's child into the family. DuLong's fifth installment of the Cedar Key series, low-key, small-town romances designed around a knitting theme, proceeds as expected. Not much new ground here, and the plot marches along with steadfast good cheer and serendipity. Everything turns out better than anyone could have expected, and the characters feel blessed and grateful for that fact. Life-altering conflicts handled in simplistic, unrealistic yet heartwarming ways; more of the same for Cedar Key fans, who will love it.

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October 15, 2013
Since her husband Andrew's unexpected death, 56-year-old Marin Kane and her two sons have moved in with her mother, Dora, who runs a knitting shop in the coastal island town of Cedar Key, Florida. Marin and Dora plan to expand the shop to include needlepoint and to hire wealthy retired architect Worth Slater to plan and execute the renovation. While Marin impatiently awaits this, she accidentally discovers that Andrew had an affair that produced a daughter and that he has kept a secret bank account for the girl. Now the bank needs Marin's signature as his survivor to release the money. Stunned by Andrew's unfaithfulness, Marin can't decide what to do and discusses the situation with Dora and Worth, who has become a good friend. Should Marin meet the daughter? Sign the papers? To clear her head, Marin flies to Paris over Thanksgiving and stays in Worth's apartment there. DuLong's sixth low-key romance will enchant her fans and entice readers who love heartwarming, down-home stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)