Isabelle (Issy) Whitaker loves her job as a museum exhibit
designer. She lives in New York City but travels the world
with her creative job. Suddenly her world turns upside
down. A phone call from the Connecticut Police telling Issy
her grandmother is in the hospital. Two of her nieces and a
nephew were left in her grandmother's care by her sister,
Viv, who has disappeared. The police are threatening to
place the children in public services unless Issy returns to
her childhood home at once. The Muses by the Sea is a
beautiful Connecticut mansion by the sea owned by the
Whitaker family. During its golden years it was a haven
for artists, actors, and famous people. Issy spent all her
childhood years there but had not returned since she
graduated college and started her career. With the news of
her grandmother having suffered a fall and a heart attack,
and her sister's disappearance and three children left
bereft, it is time to head to Muses.
It is not long after arriving at the Muses that Issy
discovers her grandmother's bank account is empty, bills are
piled up and outstanding The house and its' contents have
to be sold. Where will her Grandmother go? What a mess!
It is up to Issy to bring order to the chaos she finds at
the falling apart estate, help her aging grandmother and her
eccentric Aunt Fae, who lives in a cottage on the estate who
has secrets of her own. The arrival of her estranged
mother, Jillian York, an "on the skids" actress makes
matters worse, with so many questions
Issy has always wondered about and never asked, including
"who is my father?"
Shelley Noble creates the delight that is THE BEACH AT
PAINTER'S COVE. Secrets, family dysfunction, missing
persons, theft with a touch of romance all happening at a
lovely beach in a lovely locale. This family saga will keep
you turning the pages to the sweet ending that I loved.
Four generations of women, each with a story of their own to
be told and listened to, and how they react to a financial
crisis that affects them all. I loved the forever together
love story of Leo and Wes Whitaker that made me smile and
shed a few tears too. Filled with colorful characters,
tidbits about art, a few romances that bring joy and hope,
this is a book for everyone. I loved it!
From the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Beach
comes another heartwarming story of four generations of women
who reunite in their crumbling family mansion by the sea for a
dramatic summer filled with love, family, secrets and
sisterhood.
The Whitaker family’s Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea,
has
always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity,
extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for
generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the
life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years,
four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once
again at
The Muses.
Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion
crammed with artwork and junk. She plans to stay there until
she
joins her husband Wes on the knoll overlooking the cove and
meadow where they first met. Her sister-in-law Fae, the town
eccentric, is desperate to keep a secret she has been hiding
for
years.
Jillian, is a jet setting actress, down on her luck, and has
run
out of men to support her. She thinks selling The Muses will
make life easier for her mother, Leo, and Fae by moving them
into assisted living. The sale will also bring her the funds to
get herself back on top.
Issy, Jillian’s daughter, has a successful life as a museum
exhibit designer that takes her around the world. But the Muses
and her grandmother are the only family she’s known and when
her
sister leaves her own children with Leo, Issy knows she has to
step in to help.
Steph, is only twelve-years-old and desperately needs
someone to
fire her imagination and bring her out of her shell. What she
begins to discover at the Muses could change the course of her
future.
As Issy martials the family together to restore the mansion and
catalogue the massive art collection, a surprising thing
happens. Despite storms and moonlight dancing, diva attacks and
cat fights, trips to the beach and flights of fancy, these four
generations of erratic, dramatic women may just find a way to
save the Muses and reunite their family.