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Iris Starcross passes away, entrusting her great niece Lettie with a key and letter from her past love. Lettie travels to Devon to search for answers which will allow her beloved Iris to rest in peace…

A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea is the second book in the Heaven’s Cove series from Lize Eeles. We meet characters from the first book Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea but there are no major spoilers except for the relationship outcomes.

Lettie has always put her family first while her own life is on hold. She is dependable and this has led her to support her parents and sister at the expense of her own hopes and dreams. Now she has promised to fulfil Iris’s final wish but this is a task she takes on joyfully.

Her experience on arrival in Heaven’s Cove doesn’t make her task seem very hopeful. She is rejected by the locals and struggling to deal with her fear of water following a childhood accident in which she nearly drowned. She is also being bombarded with messages from her family, demanding she return to continue supporting them.

As Lettie finds her own path, she has the opportunity to date two men but is either of them Mr Right? While Lettie makes brave decisions and changes to her own life, she also manages to have a positive impact on several villagers which is really heartwarming and emotional to read.

A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea was a wonderfully warm and gentle yet gripping novel about finding your own place in the world and the enduring power of love.

Media Kit:

Title: A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea

Author:  Liz Eeles

Pub day: May 19th 2021

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08YK81GP3social

Apple: http://ow.ly/BasD50DZV0N

Kobo: http://ow.ly/JthN50DZUZk

Google: http://ow.ly/M6Ca50DZV26

Description:

High on the clifftops, Lettie takes a deep breath of salty air and opens the letter. There is no signature, and the old-fashioned handwriting is faint against the yellowed paper. The message, and the tiny gold key inside, will turn her life upside down…

Lettie Starcross makes her way along the cobbled streets of Heaven’s Cove, clutching a little key and searching for answers about her kind, twinkly-eyed Great Aunt Iris, whom she misses terribly. With no job back home, and no-one in her family understanding how adrift she feels, Lettie wonders if her aunt was lonely just like her – is that why she fled this pretty seaside village years ago and never returned?

Staying at Driftwood House where Iris lived, now a cosy B&B, Lettie can almost hear Iris’s laughter on the breeze. And when she locks eyes with brooding fisherman Corey as he’s singing a haunting sea shanty in the local tavern, the sparks that fly between them are a welcome distraction from her grief.

But everything changes when Lettie meets Corey’s grandmother. Hearing the name ‘Iris Starcross’, her wrinkled face turns pale. Then she tells Lettie a devastating secret: seventy years ago, a choice Iris made tore apart this tight-knit community.

Heartbroken, Lettie questions if she ever really understood her beloved aunt – and if Corey knew about this shocking rift all along. So when her sister calls begging her to come home, Lettie is torn. If she stays to find what the key unlocks, can she discover the truth about what Iris did – and fight for her own fresh start? Or will she be the next Starcross woman to run from Heaven’s Cove forever?

An absolutely gorgeous read that will whisk you away to the stunning Devon coast, about family secrets, long-lost love and coming home. Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, Rosanna Ley and Sheila O’Flanagan.

Author Bio:

Liz began her writing career as a journalist and press officer before deciding that she’d rather have the freedom of making things up as a novelist. 

Being short-listed in the Corvus ‘Love at First Write’ competition and the Novelicious search for a new women’s fiction star gave Liz the push she needed to keep putting pen to paper …. and ‘Annie’s Holiday by the Sea’ (her first published novel) is the result. 

Liz lives on the South Coast with her family and, when she’s not writing, likes to spend time walking by the sea, and trying to meditate. Her ambition is to be serene one day …. she’s still got a long way to go.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lizeelesauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lizeelesauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizeelesauthor/

Trigger warning: this book contains mental health and suicide

June Westwood has a seemingly perfect life. Two gorgeous daughters, a successful husband and business. She is heading off on a trip to meet old friends when her mother lets her down. AGAIN. She turns the car around and get a second call that informs her of the death of her estranged father. She crashes the car and, as she begins her recovery, she needs to reassess her life…

Her Family Secret is a moving and emotional story of a woman who has been let down by both parents and as a result has always put others first. Now her husband betrays her as well and she feels lost and alone. But there is a spark of hope in the form of her father’s protégé Caleb who sees her talent and encourages her to fulfil her potential as an artist.

June and Caleb don’t get off to a great start. Both of them are hiding secrets that threaten to derail their burgeoning friendship. Mental health issues and suicide are included within the plot and character background but these are handled sensitively.

I always say it is a sign of a good book when it makes you feel emotions and this book had me mad, sad and happy. I was so angry at June’s family circumstances and the unfairness which has blighted her life. Her selfish husband made me want to shout at June to stay away from him. I felt so upset at all of the sacrifices and wasted years that June has face. But the potential for the future is uplifting and made me smile.

Her Family Secret is a compelling emotional book about fresh starts and hope. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.

Author Bio:

Melissa Wiesner is a night-owl who began writing novels about five years ago when her early-to-bed family retired for the evening. In 2019, she won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award in the Mainstream Fiction Category for her first novel. Melissa holds two Master’s Degrees in Public Health and Community Agency Counseling. Her day job is in Social Work where she often encounters people knocked down by hard times but who pick themselves up and keep going, just like the characters of her novels. Melissa lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her charming husband and two adorable children.

https://www.melissawiesner.com/

https://twitter.com/Melissa_Wiesner

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3tu6rNH

Apple: https://apple.co/3rUVVyN

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3qWk86u

Google: https://bit.ly/3bSGRfy

Arnold Landon is a quiet, unassuming man in the planning permission office in Northumberland. An application to change the user of farmland takes an unexpected turn when Arnold visits the site. He discovers a wonderful historic barn which he believes should be preserved but others disagree with murderous consequences…

Murder in the Barn is a slow burn of a murder mystery novel. The actual murder doesn’t happen until halfway through. But I found myself completely enthralled by the planning permission saga that evolves in the first half. Initially, I had no idea who the victim or culprit could be! However my detective brain went into overdrive! I worked it out before the end which made me feel proud of myself but didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book itself.

Arnold’s character is wonderful and I warmed to him when he unleashes his passion for historic craftsmanship. He gives a few empassioned speeches which really made him come to life. His quirkiness and the uniqueness of his hobby as well as the emotional background to it make Arnold seem very human and realistic.

There is very little violence or forensic detail despite the murder. Instead, the emphasis is on the establishment of Arnold as an interesting lead and his uncovering of possible mottives. The dialogue feels natural which adds to the believability of the characters and the plot.

Murder in the Barn was originally published in the 1980s and it is enjoyable to return to a time with no mobile phones or social media. It is also the first book in a series of more than 20 books so I can’t wait to read more!

I have previously reviewed Murder in the Mine by Roy Lewis.

MURDER IN THE BARN

With no academic background Arnold Landon works in the Planning Department in Northumberland while pursuing his own passion for mediaeval structures. He is sent to look into the details of a planning application for change of use and is delighted to discover the Old Wheat Barn on the farm. But he soon learns of the enmity existing between the Kelvin and Rampton families and the involvement of Brandling Leisure Pursuits and its owner whose reputation is  somehow involved with a gangland killing at Scotswood Bridge.

When he is involved in a TV dispute with renowned academic Professor Fisher it seems unrelated to a personal attack upon himself but worse is to follow when he stumbles across a corpse at the Old Wheat Barn. Amid the prosaic proceedings of the planning enquiry in which he is deeply involved he finally discovers the truth behind the application and the murder—and that the solution lies in the Old Wheat Barn whose age he has correctly identified.

CHARACTER PROFILE

Somewhat inhibited, aware of his lack of academic background he works as a planning officer in the north east of England but as a self-taught archaeologist he confounds academic experts with his detailed knowledge, which involves him in a local murder. His expertise brings him promotion in due course to the Archaeology Department where he meets frustration, which he nevertheless overcomes by making important discoveries of ancient artefacts while playing a leading role in solving local crimes. As succession of opportunities for further promotion pass him by because of his desire to remain in touch with the detailed history of sites in Northumberland and this leads to further conflict, first with his inadequate superior and then with the stunningly beautiful Karen Stannard and, later in his career, the Italian archaeologist Carmela Cacciatore.

Roy Lewis Author Bio:

Roy Lewis is a well-established crime writer with 60 novels to his name. He lives in the north of England where he sets many of his books. He is a former college principal and Inspector of Schools who now runs business training programmes and has business interests in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Roy has three children – all of them lawyers.