When the music stopped
(Books)

When novelist Eden Winter emerges from completing her latest fictional adventure, she finds that life around her has changed. The usually tranquil coastal community of Job's Harbor is all abuzz over the return of the elderly Edmond sisters. Old-timers breathlessly recount how sixty years ago, Marianne, a brilliant young pianist, eloped with the scoundrel Guy Rigby. Guy, a married man and a respected banker, cleaned out the vault when he left, ruining many local families. Now widowed, Marianne has come home to Job's Harbor with her violinist sister to retire. As the ancient scandal is revived, the old hostilities are rekindled, and gossip spreads like wildfire. Meanwhile, the wealthy sisters' arrival also sparks considerable interest among their prospective heirs, who immediately vie to ingratiate themselves. Small wonder, then that when the sisters inaugurate weekly musical gatherings at their elegant estate, attendance and emotions run high. Eden herself, ever the observant writer, finds the two talented and sophisticated ladies utterly charming, and the scene and cast of characters fascinate her. Here too Eden first encounters the darkly intriguing Nick Raintree, a handsome newcomer who seems bent on unsettling her longtime but perhaps too comfortable hometown romance. Suddenly violence erupts in Job's Harbor, and Eden finds herself caught up in a real-life mystery more chilling than any plot she could have devised. Drawn deeper and deeper into a web of deceptive appearances, she follows a twisting and perilous trail to a shattering conclusion.