The Oysterville Sewing Circle
A Novel
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Stitched together with love, this is a story just waiting for your favorite reading chair. With her signature style and skill, Susan Wiggs delivers an intricate patchwork of old wounds and new beginnings, romance and the healing power of friendship, wrapped in a lovely little community that’s hiding a few secrets of its own.”
— Lisa Wingate, New York Times Bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
The #1 New York Times bestselling author brings us her most ambitious and provocative work yet—a searing and timely novel that explores the most volatile issue of our time—domestic violence.
At the break of dawn, Caroline Shelby rolls into Oysterville, Washington, a tiny hamlet at the edge of the raging Pacific.
She’s come home.
Home to a place she thought she’d left forever, home of her heart and memories, but not her future. Ten years ago, Caroline launched a career in the glamorous fashion world of Manhattan. But her success in New York imploded on a wave of scandal and tragedy, forcing her to flee to the only safe place she knows.
And in the backseat of Caroline’s car are two children who were orphaned in a single chilling moment—five-year-old Addie and six-year-old Flick. She’s now their legal guardian—a role she’s not sure she’s ready for.
But the Oysterville she left behind has changed. Her siblings have their own complicated lives and her aging parents are hoping to pass on their thriving seafood restaurant to the next generation. And there’s Will Jensen, a decorated Navy SEAL who’s also returned home after being wounded overseas. Will and Caroline were forever friends as children, with the promise of something more . . . until he fell in love with Sierra, Caroline’s best friend and the most beautiful girl in town. With her modeling jobs drying up, Sierra, too, is on the cusp of reinventing herself.
Caroline returns to her favorite place: the sewing shop owned by Mrs. Lindy Bloom, the woman who inspired her and taught her to sew. There she discovers that even in an idyllic beach town, there are women living with the deepest of secrets. Thus begins the Oysterville Sewing Circle—where women can join forces to support each other through the troubles they keep hidden.
Yet just as Caroline regains her creativity and fighting spirit, and the children begin to heal from their loss, an unexpected challenge tests her courage and her heart. This time, though, Caroline is not going to run away. She’s going to stand and fight for everything—and everyone—she loves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This moving novel from Wiggs (Between You & Me) is about a group of women who find the will to move forward together after a trauma. Caroline Shelby returns to Oysterville, Wash., from New York City after toiling as an aspiring clothing designer for 10 years. On the brink of her big break, her designs are stolen by her boss. Things get worse when her friend Angelique, a successful model, dies of a drug overdose. With no way to prove that her designs were ripped off, and after agreeing to take custody of Angelique's two young children, Flick and Addie, Caroline moves them all home to her family's house in Oysterville. Once there, she enrolls the children in school, starts her own sewing business, and rekindles her friendship with Lindy, owner of Lindy's Fabric and Notions, where Caroline worked years earlier. Caroline suspects that Angelique was a victim of domestic abuse and learns that Lindy was also a victim. Adding to her parenting and entrepreneurial roles, Caroline starts the Oysterville Sewing Circle, a domestic violence support group, in Angelique's honor. Wiggs's characters are believable not only because of their complexity, but because of their ability to deal with their faults. This story about discovering strength from friends and within is a winner.