The Secret, Book and Scone Society tells the story of four women who have secrets in their backgrounds, secrets that have turned them away from friends and family. These women find each other in Miracle Springs, NC, a town where many people come to heal. They are: Nora Pennington, a woman who runs a bookstore. She has an intuition which enables her to find the right books for anyone dealing with a problem. Hester Winthrop, who is a baker and makes wonderful scones. Estella Sadler who manages Magnolia Salon and Spa and is always looking for a new man to flirt with. And June Dixon, who is an employee at the local thermal pool. June once had a higher station in life, but tried to do something nice and paid an enormous price for her efforts.

After a man passing through Miracle Springs dies in an unusual train accident, these women, who originally got together to help each other deal with their own problems, become amateur detectives to find out what really happened to that man. It is fun watching the way they try to solve the case.

The writing could have been tighter, but the characters, especially Nora, were strong and the book hooked me.

Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin

It has been years since I've read any of Gail Godwin's books, so I thought I would try Grief Cottage. This book is about an eleven-year-old boy who has suffered through a number of tragedies. He was being raised by a single mother who did not make much money. They lived in a small, one bedroom apartment and still had trouble making ends meet. When his mother died in a car accident, Marcus received a good amount of money from an insurance policy and was sent off to live with his great aunt Charlotte, an artist living on Pawley's Island near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

I love Godwin's writing, especially the way she develops her characters. Grief Cottage is Marcus' story, but the other characters, especially his Aunt Charlotte are also fascinating. There is also a ghost, who may or may not exist. He remains in a beat up old cottage where he died years earlier during Hurricane Hazel. Marcus sees him and talks to him, but no one else does.

Some of the events that push the plot along happen out of the blue, which stopped me a bit, but that is my only critique. Since reading this I've decided to go back and read two of my favorite Godwin books, Father Melancholy's Daughter and Evensong.