First published 2010
Private investigator Regan Reilly and her husband Jack, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, escape to his parents' Cape Cod beach house for their first wedding anniversary. They want four quiet days alone together in April, far from the summer chaos of family gatherings. A fierce storm hits the Cape their first night, bringing howling winds and crashing waves. Their romantic plans crumble when Skip, the house caretaker, peers through their bedroom window checking for leaks. Two elderly neighbors arrive seeking shelter after a tree branch destroys their living room window. Then Skip discovers their reclusive neighbor Adele Hopkins crumpled at the bottom of her beach stairs. By the time Regan and Jack reach the scene, massive waves have swept the woman's body out to sea. Nobody knows anything about the mysterious sixty-something woman who moved in five months ago and avoided all contact with neighbors. Her house contains stacks of unsent apology cards and decorative pillows embroidered with "grudge me, grudge me not." Regan and Jack investigate to help locate Hopkins's family, uncovering connections to a pillow shop and anonymous online complaints about a former rowing coach. Their search for the woman's true identity transforms their anniversary weekend into an unforgettable mystery.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, mystery
Setting: Cape Cod, New York
Period: April
261 pages · Hardcover · Scribner