Hope Haven is an enthralling page-turner set in Minnesota. Terry Allen has the misfortune of discovering a dead body on the anniversary of the hit-and-run accident that killed her family. As she attempts to unravel the events that culminated in a young woman's untimely death, she finds herself coming back to life.

Terry's grade school nemesis, Ed, is the responding officer. Seeing the body, so at peace in death except for the flies that danced on her unblemished face, hits Terry hard. The event stirs conflicting feelings in her; oddly enough one of them is resentment. The suicide note read, "It's all too hard."

This unhappy event shakes Terry out of her slump. She realizes that it is time to merge back onto the highway of life. She decides to look for work. Her reinvestment has a price. Will it be too high to pay? Her neighbor at Hope Haven watches Terry's every move. Lloyd's constant cleaning borders on obsessive as he polishes until the back stairs glow, the hall floor gleams. Whenever Terry opens the front door of the building, he is always right there. Is Lloyd a good neighbor or a ticking time bomb?

In the days following the suicide, a woman had been appearing in the side yard and looking up at Rachel Quinn's window. Her expression is filled with sadness and her eyes search Hope Haven for an answer. Following the coroner's report, the police start to investigate Rachel Quinn's death as a possible homicide. Terry feels the need to question the stranger who cries and watches the window above. Terry confronts her to find that Alice had been a customer of the dead accountant. Following this discussion, Terry gets a frightening call, "You are not safe."

There are questions that should go unanswered and desires unpursued. Hope Haven was created to provide sanctuary for mentally ill and fragile people. Can such a beautiful place also harbor something much darker? As the mystery surrounding Rachel Quinn's untimely death grows, some of Hope Haven's secrets are exposed to light.

Sleepy little Watertown, Minnesota takes on a sinister countenance. Familiar places move from sunshine to shadow. Attempting to maintain her newfound optimism, Terry begins a new job with an attractive boss. Walking home from a work meeting, she feels she's being followed. Something is lurking in the shadows of Terry's life, waiting to emerge and consume her. When Terry's fingerprints are discovered on the wine glass in Rachel's apartment, Ed hauls her in for questioning. The glass also contains a sleeping potion. All evidence points to a murder and all fingers are pointing at Terry.

Back >>

 

Read Chapter One

I never expected to spend the third anniversary of Arthur and Anna’s death working at a garage sale. I had intended to spend the morning in bed, possibly the afternoon as well. A pale blue tablet insured a full night’s sleep after a long day of rest; I had covered all my bases. Instead, by the end of that day, I sold four pairs of earrings, a coat rack, an ugly brown couch, a box of socks, a toupee (used), three silk slips, eight pairs of shoes, fourteen hardcover books and discovered a dead body.

Download and print the full chapter >>

Copyright © 2005 by M. Laurel Walsh

Reviews

• Lavender: Arts & Entertainment: The Page Boy
  May 27, the third anniversary of the death of narrator Terry Allen’s husband, Arthur, and baby daughter, finds her working at her mother’s garage sale—and discovering a dead body....
• Writer finds inspiration in Wisconsin, publishes "Hope Haven"
  By Molly Snyder Edler
  M. Laurel Walsh lived in Milwaukee for five years while she attended -- and later graduated from -- UW-Milwaukee. Although Walsh now lives in St. Paul, Minn., her first book, a compelling page-turner called "Hope Haven," contains numerous Wisconsin nods, including a Summerfest reference.

Top

About the Author

M. Laurel Walsh is the editor and publisher of Double Dare Press magazine, an online international literature and art forum. In her varied careers, she has worked in a medical processing plant, cleaned houses professionally, and was a waitress for sixteen years.

She currently teaches writing at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Contact the Author

M. Laurel Walsh’s Professional Communication Seminar provides a perfect antidote to an age-old problem.  Ms. Walsh will come to your business and provide in-depth grammar and punctuation instruction.  A refresher course could prevent employees from making embarrassing errors in their correspondence.  The professional communication session focuses on professionalism in all manner of business communication from email to drafting letters. 

With thirteen years of college-level composition instruction experience, M. Laurel Walsh knows the mistakes we make when using English and how to avoid them.  As a Masters-level Management Writing instructor, she can provide instruction about current best practice in business communication. 

Name
Email
	Please come to our book club.
	Please come to our book signing.
	Please do a communication seminar.
comments