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!