Miracle Springs, North Carolina is a small but special place. Tourists come here for the hot springs and the unique shops. Nora Pennington owns Miracle Books and is renowned for her bibliotherapy -- her ability to match people with the books they need to ease their anguish. Hester Winthrop is the owner of Gingerbread House -- her specialty is comfort scones -- she has an innate sense of which ingredients to use to evoke each customer's most special memories. Estella Sadler owns the Magnolia Salon and Spa -- she can see and bring out the beauty in each woman. June Dixon works at the Miracle Springs Thermal Pools -- she inspires trust.
A visiting businessman brings Nora, Hester, Estelle, and June together. Neil Parrish, a partner in the new housing development in town, has regrets about his role in the project. He confided this to June and then to Nora. Hester sensed his overwhelming feeling of guilt when he came into her shop. They are each called in to speak with the sheriff after Neil is found dead on the railroad tracks, hit by a train. The sheriff is quick to rule it suicide but Nora and the other women know differently -- they know that he wanted to undo whatever he had done. Certain that Neil was murdered and that the sheriff is involved in the cover-up, the women decide to investigate on their own.
I read this book in one sitting. It's clear from the beginning that Nora, Hester, Estelle, and June are guided not only by an inherent sense of justice, but by atonement as well. Still haunted by their own pasts, they can identify all too well with someone who recognizes that he's taken the wrong path and seeks a better one. I loved the growth of friendship among these strong, self-reliant women who've held others at a distance for far too long.
I also loved that each chapter begins with a literary quote and that literary references are sprinkled throughout the story -- before she was a bibliotherapist, Nora was a librarian (and an excellent one at that). Miracle Books is a fictional bookstore I'd love to visit! An old train station, filled not only with books but also with eclectic shelf "enhancers", it's described so charmingly that I can picture myself browsing its shelves and hanging out in one of its comfy chairs. And although I'm not partial to either coffee or scones, this book had me considering both.
I have to admit, the mystery was a bit difficult for me to unravel, but I'm okay with that. Most of the bad guys were fairly obvious; I simply had a tough time figuring out the crime behind everything. If I had any quibble with the story, it's that the women agree early on that in order to trust one another in the risks to come, they need to tell one another their stories -- but then they jump right into the risks and take their time sharing their stories. Maybe the unspoken understanding was that they would each share their stories when they were ready?
Looking forward to the continuation of their stories!
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