by Belle Burden
First published 2026
Belle Burden feels safe with her family at their Martha's Vineyard home in March 2020. They build afternoon fires, mix whisky sours, and roast chicken while the pandemic unfolds around them. Then her husband of twenty years delivers shocking news without warning or explanation. He is leaving her. The caring, steady partner she knew vanishes overnight, replaced by someone she barely recognizes. He walks away from their life together like an actor discarding a costume. Belle searches through their marriage for signs she missed, clues that might explain who he really was. She examines her own family history and the unspoken rules about how women should respond to betrayal. The process changes her completely. The compliant woman once called "Belle the Good" disappears. In her place emerges someone willing to speak up and fight back. Belle charts her journey from devastating heartbreak toward a new understanding of love and her own strength.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, second-chance, strong-female-lead
Setting: Martha's Vineyard
Period: March 2020
256 pages · Hardcover · The Dial Press