by Jan Karon
Part of Mitford Years, book 5
First published 2005
Father Tim hangs up his collar after years serving Mitford's Episcopal congregation. Retirement doesn't last long. He accepts a temporary position ministering to a small church on Whitecap Island, bringing his wife Cynthia along for what promises to be a peaceful change of pace. The island has other plans. They encounter a church organist hiding secrets from her past, a lonely bachelor desperately seeking love through personal advertisements, and a mother trapped by crushing depression. Meanwhile, their phone buzzes constantly with calls from Mitford, where familiar problems demand their attention from afar. Father Tim discovers that serving others never truly ends, whether on a remote island or in the town he called home for decades. This fifth installment in the series explores how purpose follows us wherever we go, and how new communities reveal unexpected depths beneath quiet surfaces.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, christian-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Mitford, Whitecap Island
Period: Retirement
624 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Penguin Canada