by Jan Karon
Part of Mitford Years, book 14
First published 2017
Father Tim Kavanagh has spent twelve years struggling with retirement in Mitford. He finally accepts that he doesn't need steady work to validate himself. Then someone offers him a job. Meanwhile, twenty minutes away at Meadowgate Farm, his son Dooley and daughter-in-law Lace face a financial crisis that threatens their veterinary practice. Their adopted son Jack prepares for the biggest day of his life, complete with good food and country music. The celebration will also witness something extraordinary that begins to mend the deep rifts in Dooley's birth family. In town, newspaper editor J.C. Hogan tries desperately to save his marriage, testing everything from high-definition television to his special pork chop recipe. A local character dies and makes front-page news, though questions remain about the deceased's true identity. The former mayor, born when Lindbergh reached Paris, continues his political campaign. Jan Karon brings together the Kavanagh families across two generations in this fourteenth Mitford novel.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Meadowgate Farm, Mitford
Period: Retirement
450 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons