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Portland, Maine native Pennie Goode wakes up on her thirtieth birthday with a hangover and refrains of regret. The lingering sense of foreboding continues later in the day, and while skiing with her cousin Tita and friends Dani and Mali, a horrific accident lands her in the hospital. As she recovers, she begins to have unusual premonitions: she senses the presence of her recently deceased dog, Boone, and foretells a health scare in her uncle. "Things had shifted inside… the world was somehow sharper and more vibrant and different."
As she continues to recover from her injury, Pennie takes a job working for her uncle Alfie's real estate office and is tasked with two initially disparate cases. One involves Jeannette McCarthy, a widow who had also lost her young daughter Chloe in a car accident many years ago, and who is convinced that her deceased husband's ghost is haunting her property. The other involves the development of a business complex, spearheaded by Ward Lewis, with whom Pennie impetuously falls into a relationship. However, she continues to experience mysterious dreams, earthly vibrations, numerical signs, and ghostly visions. Her premonitions intensify as two seemingly unrelated events occur: Chloe's bracelet and necklace are found on her mother's property after Pennie dreams of just such an occurrence, and Pennie and her uncle investigate a graveyard near the proposed business road development. The latter prompts Pennie and Alfie to research the history of the doomed Malaga Island community and the Maine School for the Feeble Minded. This leads them on a quest to preserve the land and the memory of these community members—a pursuit which just might threaten everything they hold dear.
At once an enticing supernatural tale and a loving homage to a little-known historical community, this novel is captivating from beginning to end. The author describes her native Maine with loving eyes and evocative imagery. She infuses her characters with relatable and sympathetic quirks, providing light moments of humor amidst the darker tones of supernatural occurrences and traumatic pasts. Although the story contains mystic elements, they are introduced with such delicacy that they enhance the plot rather than smother it. Pennie's supernatural visions are neither dramatically macabre nor affectedly unbelievable, making her story comfortable for readers of any genre: historical fiction, suspense/thriller, literary fiction, and paranormal stories all find their home here.
The author beautifully entwines her fictional tale with the harsh realities of Malaga Island and its inhabitants. She provides sound, historically accurate details of the intense trauma this community faced, awakening readers to the horrors of the past that continue to send shockwaves through the present day. The author's exhaustive research is as evident as her passion for Malaga Island and its surrounding communities. Her words entice readers to conduct their own investigation into the fascinating and terrible history of the island and the Maine School for the Feeble Minded. Deep, immersive, and heartfelt, Safford's novel will entrance readers from the first page all the way through to its intensely satisfying conclusion.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
The 2025 Eric Hoffer Book Award Spiritual Fiction Category Winner and First Horizon Award Winer