**2020 Christy Award finalist*****Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown b...

2025 Michigan Notable Book"Bartels perfectly meshes the stories of two women, both artists, living half a world and nearly a century-and-a-half apart. Bartels' settings and historical details are unusual and compelling; the dual time lines work perfectly, and this well-researched historical tale has the pacing of a thriller."--***Booklist***starred review***Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Fran...

**2020 Michigan Notable Book2020 WFWA Star Award Winner2019 Christy Award finalist*****"In this powerful first novel . . . Bartels successfully weaves American history into a deeply moving story of heartbreak, long-held secrets, and the bonds of family."--Publishers Weekly, starred review"A forbidden interracial marriage, an escaped slave, an expectant mother waiting for her Union soldier to return--all of these stories are de...

**"Emotions leap off the page in this deeply personal book . . . . Expertly written."--**Library Journal*****The best fiction simply tells the truth.But the truth is never simple.**When novelist Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's brother--and the...

**2024 Michigan Notable Book***An Immersive Story of Music, Struggle, and Starting Over from an Award-Winning Author**Michael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he's not sure he'll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future. Until the invitation for a swanky New Year's Eve pa...

**"Bartels proves herself a master wordsmith and storyteller."--Library Journal, starred review"This subdued tale of learning to forgive is Bartels's best yet."--**Publishers Weekly**"A deeply personal, thoughtful exploration of dealing with pain and grief."--**Life Is Story**"Taut and engaging."--**Foreword**"A deftly crafted, entertainin...

The past is never as past as we’d like to thinkWhen journalist Elizabeth Balsam is asked to deliver a box of old photos to a relative she didn’t know she had, the strange request seems like it isn’t worth her time. But as she explores her great-aunt’s farmhouse with its locked doors and hidden graves, she soon discovers just how dramatically some of the most newsworthy events of the previous two centuries shaped her own family. As she searches for answers to the riddles around her,...

It was just one of those nights. One of those crazy, impossible nights that change your life. Forever.When guitarist Michael Sullivan gets kicked out of his band (and his apartment), landing a record deal seems an impossible dream. And nothing about Michael’s prospects points toward a better future. Until the invitation for a swanky NewYear’s Eve party shows up in the mailbox. It’s addressed to his uncle, with whom he shares both name and living space, but his uncle is going...

A charismatic man with a legacy that long outlives him. A forgotten woman whose fate is forever tied to his. And the family whose history is still being written.Toulouse, France—1879Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells pigments to artists. When her past catches up to her, she is compelledto pose...

**"Emotions leap off the page in this deeply personal book. … Expertly written."—**Library JournalThe best fiction simply tells the truth.But the truth is never simple.When novelist Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's br...

Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels. When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perf...

The most treacherous terrain is found withinTen years ago, sisters Olivia and Melanie Greene were on a hiking trip when their parents were in a fatal car accident. They haven't seen each other since thefuneral. Olivia coped with the loss by plunging herself into law school, work, and a materialist view of the world—what you see is what you get, and that's all youget. Melanie dropped out of college and developed an online life coaching business around her DIY spiritual...