The Bookshop At Water’s End by Patti Callahan Henry

• Title:  The Bookshop At Water’s End
• Author:  Patti Callahan Henry
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Pages:  352
• Published:  July 2017 – Berkley
• Source:  Publisher; Tandem Literary

My take:  When Bonny and Lainey were girls their families were summer friends in the small coastal town of Water’s End. They did everything together and were even called the “Summer Sisters” by some of the locals. The summer they were 13 something horrible happened and their families never returned to Water’s End. Bonny’s family owned the house where both families stayed and now Bonny was the owner. She’d fixed it up and rented it out over the years but now she was going to prepare to sell it. That was the plan but one night changed everything. Bonny, an ER doctor, makes an error that has devastating consequences. She decided to retreat to Water’s End and take her 19-year-old daughter Piper with her. Piper just flunked out of her first year of college and finds solace in a bottle of Jack Daniels. Mother and daughter need a change and Bonny hopes the river house will help. She also calls Lainey who promised to be there any time Bonny needed her. They’d both made that promise. The thing is, Lainey never wants to see Water’s End again. It holds so many bad memories. Like the true friend she is though she packs up her two young children and heads back to Bonny.

The three women will support and maybe even help each other find answers to large and small questions. I love novels like this – a lovely, lush setting, positive women, and relatable challenges. Patti Callahan Henry’s story pulled me in and I enjoyed every minute spent with her characters. I loved the words of wisdom shared by Mimi, the bookstore owner. “The soul needs story and meaning to help us endure this life… Books can be medicine for the heart...”  I know this to be true.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include The Idea of Love, Driftwood Summer, and The Art of Keeping Secrets. She lives with her husband and three children in Mountain Brook, Alabama.

TOUR DATES:

Visit http://www.patticallahanhenry.com/events/ for the full tour details.

Birmingham, AL • July 10
Decatur, GA • July 11
Woodstock, GA • July 12
Charleston, SC • July 13
Florence, SC • July 13
Pawley’s Island, SC • July 14
Beaufort, SC • July 14
Bluffton, SC • July 15
Savannah, GA • July 15
Columbia, SC • July 16
Maryville, TN • July 17
Lake Lure, NC • July 18
Laurens, SC • July 18
Hochston, GA • July 19
Marietta, GA • July 19
Dothan, AL • July 20
Apalachicola, FL • July 20
Panama City, FL • July 21
Spartanburg, SC • July 22
Greenville, SC • July 23
Nashville, TN • July 27
Macon, GA • July 31
Fair Haven, NJ • August 2
Manasquan, NJ • August 3

PRAISE FOR THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END

“With an eloquent and effective narrative, a realistic continuing theme of unbreakable relationship bonds, and a fantastic multilayered story line of secrets, regrets, and a good dose of teenage drama, this is a solid summer read.” —Library Journal

“The Bookshop at Water’s End carries us along the graceful curves and outwardly serene storyline of two childhood friends returning to their summer riverside home. But like the river she writes about, Patti’s plot roils with strong undercurrents of murky secrets, tragedy and the pulsing tides of self-discovery. No one writes about the power of family and friends like Patti Callahan Henry. The Bookshop at Water’s End is a must-read for your summer!” —Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of Beach House for Rent

“Patti Callahan Henry’s stories are always woven with magic and mystery, and The Bookshop at Water’s End knots these elements into a deeply satisfying and heartfelt tale of loss and betrayal, friendship and forgiveness. The sun is shining, the tide is turning, summer and Patti Henry’s latest masterpiece beckon. Resistance is futile!” —Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of The Weekenders

“Patti Callahan Henry has written the best novel of her career with The Bookshop at Water’s End. I absolutely adored it and predict it will be one of the most loved books of the year.  In fact, it’s so good I wish I’d written it myself!” —Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Times bestselling author of Same Beach, Next Year

“I adore Patti Callahan Henry’s new novel. The Bookshop at Water’s End is a juicy summer read about family secrets, forgotten friendships, and the power of books to change our lives.” —Jane Green, New York Times bestselling author of The Sunshine Sisters

“From the very first page, Patti Callahan Henry draws you in like the tide, revealing long simmering secrets that will test family and friendships and explores the question: do we tell our stories or do our stories tell us? In lush, lyrical prose, Henry explores the power of forgiveness, especially in ourselves. Every page was a treat.” —Laura Lane McNeal, bestselling author of Dollbaby

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