Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Propulsive An absorbing look at smalltown Maine and the thwarted dreams of a family trying to transcend itLee Cole The New York Times Editors Choice

Finalist for the New England Society Book Award A CrimeReads Best Book of the Year

Its spring in the tiny town of Damariscotta a tourist haven on the coast of Maine known for its oysters and antiques Andrew a high school English teacher recently returned to the area has brought his family to Ed and Steph Thatchs sprawling riverside estate to attend a reception for the Amherst womens lacrosse team Back when they were all teenagers Andrew never could have predicted that Ed descended from a long line of lobstermen or Steph a decent student until she dropped out to start a family would ever send a daughter to a place like Amherst But so the tides have turned and Andrews trying hard to admire more than envy the view from Eds rolling backyard meadow

As Andrew wanders through the Thatches house hestumbles upon a file hes not supposed to see photos of a torched body in a burnedoutsedan And when a line of state police cruisers crashes the Thatches reception an hour later Andrew and his neighbors finally begin to see the truth behind Ed and Stephs remarkable rise Soon the newspapers are running headlines about the Thatches and Andrews poring over his memories trying to piece together the story of a family he thought he knew

A propulsive drama that cares as deeply about its characters as it does about the crimes they commit The Midcoast explores the machinations of privilege the dark recesses of the American dream and the lies we tell as we try at all costs to protect the ones we love