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In the second book of Sandra Steiner's Spring Island Trilogy, we meet the central character Lily, a young woman who seems a lost soul. Throughout most of her life, Lily has been plagued by disturbing dreams and unable to remember the early years of her childhood. Now settled in the quaint island town of Seaside, she lives with her pet terrier Lucy, and owns the local Driftwood Diner. In a resolving effort to put the past behind her, Lily secures a two month caretaking position for a woman dealing with cancer. In Rollingway, the recurring town of her dreams, Lily will piece together her fragmented memories. With both literal and figurative newfound "Joy" (Steiner's well-chosen name for Lily's long lost sibling), readers will share in the uncovering of long hidden family secrets. Here the author infuses a fluid storyline with connections of love, family discord, adoption, kidnapping, and eventually self-discovery.
Steiner makes good use of classic mystery elements, as journals, diaries, hidden safes, and secret rooms prove useful in Lily's unraveling of her familial history. Though the island takes on a less prominent role here, compared to Book One, it still provides an ideal respite, particularly for Olivia, the recovering cancer patient and serves as a place for family to reunite. Like the soothing cups of tea savored throughout the storyline, both offer solace and a moment for characters and readers to ponder new clues and information. There seems a minor overlapping timeframe between Books One and Two in this trilogy. Though ultimately as the plot plays out, the non-sequential order of events is resolved.
From her earlier book Cherish The Past, to this second installment, Steiner artfully blends a narrative that encompasses events of both the past and present. If these two works are any indication, the final segment of this trio should have readers looking forward to another engaging character journey, that moves towards a positive and rewarding future.