The Summer Cottage

"Beautifully written and closely observed, The Summer Cottage captures the deep and complicated love of family. Reading this lovely novel, I felt the embrace of summer on the shoreline." --Luanne Rice, New York Times bestselling author

Spanning two summers decades apart, Susan Kietzman's poignant novel explores the complexities of the people--and places--that shape our lives...

Helen Street spent every summer of her childhood at her family's cedar-shake cottage on Long Island Sound. The youngest of four, she shared her mother Claire's athletic genes and relished the orchestrated games and competitions that filled those warm, endless days. Unlike her older siblings--fiery Charlotte, ambitious Thomas, middle-child Pammy--Helen rarely felt the pressure of her mother's high expectations.

Thirty years later, with her brother and sisters scattered, Helen is the sole caregiver for Claire, now terminally ill. Knowing her death is imminent, Claire has put Helen in the awkward position of telling the others that she plans on leaving everything, including the cottage, to Helen when she dies--unless everyone comes to the shore for a long weekend over the Fourth of July. During this time together, Helen, Charlotte, Pammy, and Thomas will revisit their long-ago decisions and assumptions. And they will face new choices that could shatter their fragile kinship--or reveal a family's extraordinary power to remember, to forgive, and to grow...

"This is solid beach-read material that will be particularly appealing to those who like stories of family secrets." --Booklist

Susan Kietzman writes contemporary American fiction. Her protagonists face every day challenges and issues, and make decisions that affect the direction and quality of their lives. Before dedicating all her writing time to fiction, she wrote in several other capacities - as newspaper reporter, corporate client wordsmith, and museum fundraiser. She also taught English and public speaking at two community colleges. It Started in June is her fifth novel. Her previous novels are Every Other Wednesday, The Summer Cottage, A Changing Marriage, and The Good Life. Please visit her online at www.SusanKietzman.com.