A Happier Life

by Kristy Woodson Harvey

First published 2024

Keaton Smith needs to escape her current life. When her mother asks her to sell a childhood home in Beaufort, North Carolina that Keaton never knew existed, she sees her chance. The abandoned house holds secrets about grandparents who died before her birth. She meets her charming neighbor, his ten-year-old son, and the town's meddling residents, but answers remain elusive. In 1976, Rebecca "Becks" Saint James throws legendary summer parties at her historic home. The whole town wants invitations to her suppers. Behind her perfect hostess image, Becks struggles with problems she cannot fix. As summer ends, she must make a choice she hoped to avoid. Both women face turning points in their lives. The house on Sunset Lane connects them across decades, holding the secrets and dreams of the women in their family.

Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, secrets

Setting: Beaufort, North Carolina, Sunset Lane

Period: 1976, 21st-century

384 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books

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