Sarah Healy

A gripping novel about two sisters who are left homeless by their mother's death and the lengths the fierce older sister will go to protect her beloved young charge The hardscrabble Chase women--Mary, Hannah, and their mother Diane--have been eking out a living running a tiny seaside motel that has been in the family for generations, inviting trouble into their lives for just as long. Eighteen-year-old Mary Chase is a force of nature: passionate, beautiful, and free-spirited. Her much younger sister, Hannah, whom Mary affectionately calls "Bunny," is imaginative, her head full of the stories of princesses and adventures that Mary tells to give her a safe emotional place in the middle of their troubled world. But when Diane dies in a car accident, Mary discovers the motel is worth less than the back taxes they owe. With few options, Mary's finely tuned instincts for survival kick in. As the sisters begin a cross-country journey in search of a better life, she will stop at nothing to protect Hannah. But Mary wants to protect herself, too, for the secrets she promised she would never tell--but now may be forced to reveal--hold the weight of unbearable loss. Vivid and suspenseful, The Sisters Chase is a whirlwind page-turner about the extreme lengths one family will go to find--and hold onto--love.

The Sisters Chase

"Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemployed, and living with her right-wing, born-again Christian parents in her suburban New Jersey hometown. There the schools are private, the past is public, and blessings come in lump sums. Then Ellen meets a man to whom she believes she can open her heart, and she begins to think that maybe it's true that everything happens for a reason--until all that was going well starts going very badly and Ellen is finally forced to dig deep to find her own brand of faith"--

Can I get an amen?

When we were little and I needed Warren, I would rub my earlobe. And perhaps it was the alchemy of childhood, a magic that happened because I believed it could, but I swear it worked. He always came. Theirs wasn't always the misfit family in the neighborhood. Jenna Parsons's childhood was one of block parties and barbecues, where her mother, a former beauty queen, continued her reign and her twin brother, Warren, was viewed as just another oddball kid. But as her mother's shopaholic habits intensified, and her brother's behavior became viewed as more strange than quirky, Jenna sought to distance herself from them. She is devoted to her career and her four-year-old daughter, Rose. But now, in his peculiar way, Warren summons her back to 62 Royal Court. What she finds there--a house in disrepair, a neighborhood on tenterhooks over a rash of petty thefts, and evidence of past traumas her mother has kept hidden--will challenge Jenna as never before. But as she stands by her family, she also begins to find beauty in unexpected places, strength in unlikely people, and a future she couldn't have imagined.

House of Wonder

From the author of House of Wonder, two sisters embark on a surprising journey after the death of their mother. The hardscrabble Chase women—Mary, Hannah, and their mother, Diane—have been eking out a living running a tiny seaside motel that has been in the family for generations. Eighteen-year-old Mary Chase is a force of nature: passionate, beautiful, and free-spirited. Her much younger sister, Hannah, whom Mary affectionately calls Bunny, is imaginative, her head full of the stories Mary tells to give her a safe emotional place in the middle of their troubled world. When Diane dies in a car accident, Mary discovers that the motel is worth less than the back taxes they owe, and her finely tuned instincts for survival kick in. As the sisters begin a cross-country journey in search of a better life, she will stop at nothing to protect Hannah. But Mary wants to protect herself, too, for the secrets she promised she would never tell—but now may be forced to reveal—hold the weight of unbearable loss. “Captivating” (Publishers Weekly) and suspenseful, The Sisters Chase is a “striking, heartbreaking story about love, motherhood, and family, with a powerful and elusive protagonist at its heart” (Library Journal). “Thoroughly surprising…The Sisters Chase is that rare thing, a slow burner that conceals its cunning and sneaks up on you unawares.”—New York Times “Mary is a wonderful creation…A modern picaresque novel that surprises and delights.”—Toronto Star “Part mystery, part road novel, part family saga...had me riveted from the first secret to the last revelation.”—Lisa Lutz, New York Times–bestselling author

When the last thing you want is the one thing you need, you've got to have a little faith.... Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemployed, and living with her right-wing, born-again Christian parents in her suburban New Jersey hometown. There the schools are private, the past is public, and blessings come in lump sums. Then Ellen meets a man to whom she believes she can open her heart, and she begins to think that maybe it’s true that everything happens for a reason—until all that was going well starts going very badly and Ellen is finally forced to dig deep to find her own brand of faith.

Sarah Healy

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