New England Fiction

Elise Gilpatrick never thought she would be a parent, especially not like this. After agreeing to take 15-year-old DJ as a temporary foster placement straight from the police station, she feels like she's in over her head. But, as she learns on the job with a little help from her coworker, Elise realizes that she and DJ need to lean on each other and on the God who pieced them together. Their rocky journey will only prove that it's never too late to find the love of a family.

Embark on a journey through 19th-century New England with 'A New England Nun' by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. This annotated edition unveils the nuanced layers of societal expectations and women's autonomy. Explore the symbolism of wild grapes, the metaphorical imagery of an uncloistered nun, and Joe Daggett's poignant honesty.

A young couple buys an historic New England home with plans to restore it to its original time and beauty. But they have scarcely moved in when strange and frightening things begin to happen. From a child's gravestone in the backyard, to a horrific history discovered about previous owners, there is little time for them to enjoy this home.

New York - July 1976 - in a world in which New England remains the sparkling jewel in the crown of the British Empire. It is the day before Empire Day - July 4 - the day each year when the British Empire marks the brutal crushing of the rebellion dignified by the treachery of the 56 delegates to the Continental Congress who were so foolhardy as to sign the infamous Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on that day of infamy in 1776.

Tara Walker dreams of more excitement than slinging plates of seafood for Cape Cod tourists, but as she learns when she is attacked and forced to fight for her life, fate sometimes has a funny way of giving you exactly what you wish for. Faced with strange new powers and embroiled in a murder investigation, Tara must now race to uncover the secrets of the ancient Fury that has woken inside of her - and of the evil that stalks her.

It is the late spring of 1978 in a world in which the American Revolution failed in 1776 after George Washington was killed and the Continental Army was destroyed at the Battle of Long Island. The rumbling aftershocks of the Empire Day atrocities which reverberated through Two Hundred Lost Years are threatening to come to the boil. While in Philadelphia the politics become ever more fractious in Spain the Royal Alcazar is a citadel besieged in a country which might as well still be stuck in the 19th century.

Isaac Fielding knows exactly where he stands: Things were not looking good. Upon that, at least, everybody could agree. The other thing that everybody seemed to agree about was that when, eventually, I had my day in court it was likely to be a short, bittersweet experience and that the main topic of discussion would be the manner of my subsequent execution.

Who's to blame when tragedy strikes? Jamie blames herself. And her secret is killing her. When someone starts digging into the past, her already-tattered life begins to fall apart at the seams. With her marriage, her job, and her sanity in jeopardy, Jamie is desperate to escape everything that reminds her of that fateful night.

Amanda became a nurse to save as many lives as possible. After her mother died while being swindled by a church leader, Amanda swore off religion and turned to medical science to solve all of life's problems. But when she loses her home and job, and struggles to make a new life in a new town, Amanda's feeble beliefs can't withstand the pressure.

Attorney Cameron Thorne is thrust into a bloody tug-of-war involving secret societies, treasure hunters, and keepers of the secrets of the Jesus bloodline. Joined by Amanda, an enchanting British researcher with secrets of her own, Cam races around New England with only two choices - unravel the 600-year-old mysteries encoded in the ancient artifacts, or die trying. 

Bree works in her family's bakery, Bellaluna's, where the secret ingredient is magic. Among all the mouthwatering treats that they regularly dish out rests a special cookie that can nudge would-be couples together. Though Bree has tried to perfect the recipe, her attempts have always come up short...but then Caleb, a visiting restaurateur, steps in and gets a taste of her latest creation. 

When a pair of young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and inhuman characters alike. In his transcendent fourth novel, Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason delivers a magisterial and highly inventive tale brimming with love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature and even language, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we're connected to our environment, to history and to each other.

Abby Kimball has just moved to New England with her boyfriend and is trying to settle in, but the experience is proving to be quite unsettling, to say the least. While on a tour of local historic homes, Abby witnesses a family scene that leaves her gasping for breath - because the family has been dead for nearly a century. Another haunting episode follows, and another, until it seems to Abby that everything she touches is drawing her in, calling to her from the past.

Parnassus on Wheels is the story of a marvelous man, small in stature, wiry as a cat, yet Olympic in personality. Roger Mifflin is part pixie, part sage, part noble savage, and all God's creature. With his traveling book wagon, named Parnassus, he moves through the New England countryside of 1915 on an itinerant mission of enlightenment. Mifflin's delight in books and authors is infectious. With his singular philosophy and bright eyes, he comes to represent the heart and soul of the book world.

Getting dumped was not how Lara wanted to start her day. Toss in an increase in her rent and an unsustainable job and things might not be able to get much worse. However, after a trip to Bellaluna's, she scores a new job working for Mayor Jack Hanson - planning the Halloween parade. But as the two work to create the most memorable Halloween celebration Moonbright has ever seen, old feelings are stirred up. 

Merritt Fernsby’s life has changed considerably since he inherited Whimbrel House. He’s engaged to Hulda Larkin, who opened his eyes to the uncanny. And he’s grown quite protective of his uncle Owein—several generations, and iterations, removed. Owein is presently inhabiting the body of a mixed-breed terrier when Merritt receives a missive from none other than Alexandrina Victoria, the Queen of England: I am interested in your dog.

If there’s anything Susan Sheridan understands, it’s that things don’t always go as planned. From her divorce, to her move from Newark, to her cancer diagnosis, finally to Scott popping the question at the Sunrise Cove Inn’s New Year’s Party in front of all her closest family and friends. She never thought she’d find her way back to a love like this. Amanda prepares herself for the ride of her life as she plans a dream-wedding to Chris, a man she’s loved desperately for years. But there’s something off about him. Something that rears its ugly head as the January wedding date rolls near.

It's summertime in Busman's Harbor, Maine, and the clamming is easy - or it was until a mysterious new neighbor blocks access to the beach, cutting off the Snowden Family Clambake's supply. Julia Snowden is just one of many townspeople angered by Bartholomew Frick's decision. But which one of them was angry enough to kill?

Rhode Island, 1846. Estranged from his family, writer Merritt Fernsby is surprised when he inherits a remote estate in the Narragansett Bay. Though the property has been uninhabited for more than a century, Merritt is ready to call it home—until he realizes he has no choice. With its doors slamming shut and locking behind him, Whimbrel House is not about to let Merritt leave. Ever.

Ever since her first ghostly sighting, Abby Kimball has been trying to unravel the mystery of her newly discovered ability. So when she sees the apparition of a Revolutionary War soldier in the middle of the town green - just days before the annual Patriot's Day celebration, no less - she's determined to figure out her connection to the man. The ethereal soldier is not the only mystery in Abby's life.