Final Rights

When Tate Marlowe discovers an abandoned mansion in Montford, the historical district in Asheville, NC, she realizes the place shares a distinctive design element with a small house she owns. Tate is sure this similarity cannot be accidental. Driven by a desire to discover the connection and save the neglected old house from destruction, she searches for its rightful owner and begins to unravel a family history strewn with murder, suicide, grief and shame. Her search leads her to an old man living out his last years in self-imposed isolation and a young woman searching for remnants of her past and a place to call home. With each revelation, Tate delves deeper into the lives of people inextricably connected by blood, family secrets, individual aspirations and calculated retribution.

Tena Frank grew up in a series of small towns in south central Michigan before venturing off to the big cities. She spent twenty years in Miami during which time she earned a Master's degree in Social Work from Barry University. She completed her doctoral coursework at Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City and spent 16 years working with homeless adults on the City streets. After leaving New York, she bummed around for a year before settling in Asheville, NC, where she shares her home with her best canine friend, Coco. Final Rights is her first novel.