The Man in Cabin Number Five

Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over.

"A touching novel charting two women’s parallel lives, tied together by mysteries, transformation, and a cabin." —BookLife

"Chrysteen Braun creates a masterpiece with smooth storytelling that juxtaposes the serenity of the mountains with the eruptive chaos of dangerous secrets and ends with a bang. What a terrific story! What a talented writer!" —San Francisco Book Review


"Masterfully written, intriguing, mystifying, and spooky...an entertaining work that will keep the reader hooked until the end." —Readers' Favorite


"In an intriguing set of stories, each cabin on the mountain serves as the setting for a compelling tale of loss, betrayal—and love. Chrysteen Braun’s clever premise gives us a satisfying glimpse into the lives of others—both past and present." —Anne Cleeland, author of the Doyle & Acton Mystery Series

"Annie and Alyce are two women without much in common, but whose lives intersect in a place that has surprises for both of them. In telling their stories, Chrysteen Braun blends memoir and mystery in an entertaining page-turner." —Susan Denley, former Associate Features Editor, Los Angeles Times

When Annie Parker discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t let it destroy her. She packs her bags and heads to Lake Arrowhead, California, the mountainside town where her family used to summer. Immersing herself in the restoration of seven 1920s-era cabins, Annie begins to put the pieces of her life back together. But starting over is never easy.


Alyce Murphy needs closure. When she discovers her father did not die from a heart attack, as she’s been led to believe for the last 30 years, but in a murder/suicide, she is determined to uncover the truth of his death. But when she visits the cabin where her father ended his life, Alyce has to accept she may never know the true story.


Annie is looking toward her future while Alyce needs to put the past to rest. In parallel stories, both women are drawn to the rustic mountainside cabins as they search for the missing pieces—but they soon discover that the cabins have their own stories to tell.