First published 2014
Kelley Quinn owns the Winter Street Inn on Nantucket and expects a peaceful Christmas reunion with his four adult children. His eldest son Patrick works as a hedge fund manager wrestling with guilt. Kevin tends bar while carrying on a secret affair with Isabelle, the French housekeeper. Daughter Ava teaches school and struggles to get her boyfriend to commit. Youngest son Bart has joined the Marines and remains stationed in Afghanistan. Kelley's holiday plans shatter when he discovers his current wife Mitzi kissing the man playing Santa at the inn's Christmas party. The discovery triggers a cascade of family disasters. Each of the older Quinn children faces personal crises while Bart stays unreachable overseas. Kelley's ex-wife Margaret, who works as a television news anchor, may hold the key to salvaging the holiday. The family weathers romantic entanglements, unexpected pregnancy, criminal activity, a house fire, heavy drinking, and constant Christmas caroling before the celebration ends.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Afghanistan, Nantucket
Period: Christmas
249 pages · Kindle Edition · Little, Brown and Company