The Solace of Autumn

Some mysteries are better left unsolved.

It’s October 1987, and life gets complicated for Sheriff Wade Thompson when he’s asked to assume guardianship over seventeen-year-old Lily, the daughter of his childhood best friend, Emma Parker, who disappeared just months after Lily was born.

With Lily now in his life, memories of Emma come rushing back, and Wade becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of her disappearance. When the body of a young woman is discovered on the beach of a nearby island, Wade convinces himself there’s a connection, and he decides to officially reopen an investigation into Emma’s case.

Wade suspects that Lily’s unknown father might be the man responsible, not only for Emma’s disappearance, but also for the woman on the beach. He’s determined to find the truth about Lily’s paternity and, ultimately, the truth about Emma. But the truth might not be something Wade is prepared to hear.

With Atlantic coastal beaches and tidewater marshes as a backdrop, the novel interweaves two timelines, recounting a friendship almost ruined by pride and jealousy, and lives forever changed by a mysterious disappearance.

The Solace of Autumn is a compelling, character-driven novel about time and place, love and loss, friends and family, and a mystery born from secrets.