Picture Perfect Autumn
A Novel
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4.5 • 20 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
A Manhattan photographer finds inspiration and new possibilities in a Gothic Rhode Island beach house in this uplifting fall-set read from New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble.
Dani Campbell is the latest darling of the Manhattan art scene. As a self-taught photographer, Dani is loving every minute of her sudden popularity, but has no idea how she got there, or a clue as to how to stay. On a shoot at an antiques barn, she discovers an envelope of old photos and sees in them what her photos are missing. Her search for their source leads Dani to a small Rhode Island town, a dilapidated American Gothic beach house—and Lawrence Sinclair.
Reclusive and bitter, the last thing eighty-year-old Lawrence wants to think about is photography—the thing that inadvertently led to his son’s death and tore his family apart. But Dani is determined and persuasive, and Lawrence can’t help but be intrigued by the girl with spiky hair who wants to learn from him, when almost everyone else just wants to relieve him of his substantial fortune.
Dani and Lawrence’s mentorship blossoms unexpectedly, but everything is put in jeopardy by the appearance of Lawrence’s estranged grandson, Peter. Peter is determined to spend some time reconnecting with his grandfather and to get rid of the supposed fortune hunter after Lawrence’s money. But Dani is not what he was expecting, and he soon discovers that they have more things in common than not.
Brought together by fortune, fate, and the ties that bind, all three embark on journeys of discovery and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An up-and-coming Manhattan photographer finds inspiration from an aging recluse in this cozy contemporary from Noble (The Tiffany Girls). When 28-year-old Dani Campbell, a rising star of the art world, discovers some profoundly moving photographs at an antique barn, she becomes determined to track down the man who took them, hoping he'll teach her how to capture the spark she feels is missing from her own work. Her search leads her to Lawrence Sinclair, who blames the dissolution of his family on his long-since abandoned art career and now lives alone in a ramshackle Rhode Island mansion. Dani becomes a temporary boarder in Lawrence's crumbling home, cleaning and cooking in exchange for his reluctant tutelage. Improving her photography skills isn't the only advantage to this setup: it also introduces her to Lawrence's estranged grandson, Peter, a lawyer for the family business whose arrival at Lawrence's house is complicated by past tensions and Peter's unhappiness with the career path his mother has picked for him. Dani faces her own career choices, conflicted in her desire to succeed in the New York art world and the sense of belonging she's found in small-town life. All three protagonists feel emotionally authentic and their search for happiness despite past mistakes rings true. The result is utterly heartwarming.
