The Beach at Painter's Cove: A Novel

by Shelley Noble

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Beach comes another heartwarming story of four generations of women who reunite in their crumbling family mansion by the sea for a dramatic summer filled with love, family, secrets and sisterhood.

The Whitaker family’s Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea, has always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity, extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years, four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once again at The Muses.

Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion crammed with artwork and junk. She plans to stay there until she joins her husband Wes on the knoll overlooking the cove and meadow where they first met. Her sister-in-law Fae, the town eccentric, is desperate to keep a secret she has been hiding for years.

Jillian, is a jet setting actress, down on her luck, and has run out of men to support her. She thinks selling The Muses will make life easier for her mother, Leo, and Fae by moving them into assisted living. The sale will also bring her the funds to get herself back on top.

Issy, Jillian’s daughter, has a successful life as a museum exhibit designer that takes her around the world. But the Muses and her grandmother are the only family she’s known and when her sister leaves her own children with Leo, Issy knows she has to step in to help.

Steph, is only twelve-years-old and desperately needs someone to fire her imagination and bring her out of her shell. What she begins to discover at the Muses could change the course of her future.

As Issy martials the family together to restore the mansion and catalogue the massive art collection, a surprising thing happens. Despite storms and moonlight dancing, diva attacks and cat fights, trips to the beach and flights of fancy, these four generations of erratic, dramatic women may just find a way to save the Muses and reunite their family.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062439079
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	538,378
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Shelley Noble is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Whisper Beach, Beach Colors, and The Tiffany Girls, the story of the largely unknown women artists responsible for much of Tiffany’s legendary glasswork, as well as several historical mysteries. A former professor, professional dancer and choreographer, she now lives in New Jersey halfway between the shore, where she loves visiting lighthouses and vintage carousels, and New York City, where she delights in the architecture, the theatre, and ferreting out the old stories behind the new. Shelley is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Historical Novel Society.

Editorial Reviews

Shelley Noble effortlessly balances drama and intrigue in a story that ultimately reveals the love and sacrifice extant in even the most dysfunctional families.” — Jamie Beck, author of Worth the Wait

“With charming, believable character and a delightful setting, this enchanting family drama makes for a perfect beach read.” — Booklist

“With fully fleshed-out characters and family drama to spare, Noble’s latest (after Forever Beach and Whisper Beach) is a summer read with substance. For fans of women’s fiction and the works of Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer.” — Library Journal

“This is a multi-generational novel with characters who are witty, creative, cunning, caring and secretive. The storyline has many layers and subplots to uncover and treasure. Noble has an incredible talent for writing multi-faceted, believable family sagas.” — RT Book Reviews

“The Beach At Painter’s Cove is a wonderfully written family drama... Noble tells their story in a way that had me laughing, caring, worrying, and cheering... unexpected twists that will keep you flipping pages well into the night.” — Nancy Naigle, USA Today bestselling author of the Adams Grove novels

“Shelley Noble has penned a big, engaging family saga, filled with a memorable ensemble cast, spanning four generations. Noble’s expert storytelling, combined with her beautiful writing makes this a novel that keeps you turning pages.” — Renee Rosen, author of Windy City Blues

“A beautiful and moving story of love and family set on a magical stretch of beach in Connecticut. The perfect summer read!” — Chanel Cleeton, author of Next Year in Havana

From the Publisher

Shelley Noble has penned a big, engaging family saga, filled with a memorable ensemble cast, spanning four generations. Noble’s expert storytelling, combined with her beautiful writing makes this a novel that keeps you turning pages.

Renee Rosen

A beautiful and moving story of love and family set on a magical stretch of beach in Connecticut. The perfect summer read!

Chanel Cleeton

With charming, believable character and a delightful setting, this enchanting family drama makes for a perfect beach read.

Booklist

This is a multi-generational novel with characters who are witty, creative, cunning, caring and secretive. The storyline has many layers and subplots to uncover and treasure. Noble has an incredible talent for writing multi-faceted, believable family sagas.

RT Book Reviews

The Beach At Painter’s Cove is a wonderfully written family drama... Noble tells their story in a way that had me laughing, caring, worrying, and cheering... unexpected twists that will keep you flipping pages well into the night.

Nancy Naigle

Shelley Noble effortlessly balances drama and intrigue in a story that ultimately reveals the love and sacrifice extant in even the most dysfunctional families.

Jamie Beck

With charming, believable character and a delightful setting, this enchanting family drama makes for a perfect beach read.

Booklist

05/01/2017
Issy, a Manhattanite in her early 30s, is a successful designer in the museum world. She considers herself an unwanted afterthought in her eccentric family and hasn't visited the artist colony, Muses by the Sea, where she was raised by her grandparents, since they sent her off to college. However, in the middle of a swank museum party she receives a call for help from her young niece that draws her back into the chaotic world of her family and the historic mansion they inhabit on the Connecticut coast. Issy is soon faced with three abandoned children (her two nieces and one nephew), her hospitalized grandmother, her diva mother, and her narcissistic sister—all without a penny among them. And to top it off, her ancestral home is in disrepair and on the verge of being sold. Quite a pickle, but—with the help of her dysfunctional family—Issy is determined to save the Muses. VERDICT With fully fleshed-out characters and family drama to spare, Noble's latest (after Forever Beach and Whisper Beach) is a summer read with substance. For fans of women's fiction and the works of Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer.—Karen Core, Detroit P.L.

Library Journal