Black Sand Forest

Every family has secrets. Most are buried right at home. Some, however, lay hidden in faraway lands.

Shelby Van Dorn should have listened. Her mother shouldn't have waited to tell her until her brain fought for space with a malignant tumor. But who is going to listen to a world reknown pharmacist when she starts telling fantastical tales of a far away place covered in trees with a only tiny cabin as shelter from the rain?

Hamish Marcus Scott tackles impossible tasks for breakfast and emerges victorious by morning tea. But he doesn't do family drama. These letters from the late Rita Van Dorn tell all. He will leave them on the table and be long gone when Rita's daughter arrives from America and the ticking bomb detonates.

"I'm listening now, Mother," Shelby says when she steps from the car in Charleston, New Zealand. Too late. Her mother's double life at the bottom of the globe is unfolding and unraveling right before her eyes.

A hand on his shoulder, a whisper in his ear, a letter falls across his path, the damn ghost won't leave him alone. Rita has a plan and it doesn't include him hiding away until the dust settles on the mess she left behind. Quite the opposite. She expects him to sweep up the family dirt into a neat little pile.

Oh no. Not again, Mother! Shelby isn't having it. Her mother is famous for butting into her life and infusing a good dose of turmoil. And Shelby is expert at thwarting all attempts. But how does she butt heads with a dead woman?

Hamish knows exactly how to go toe-to-toe with the dead. But the more he does, the more family drama turns to intrigue. A story of love over lifetimes, a grand plan, and secrets. So many secrets to which Shelby unknowingly holds the key. Can he talk her into staying long enough for them to follow the trail to the end? Or will the secrets

and plan

and love forever be lost?