An Up Island Novel Series

Brimming with the small-town heart and seaside charm of Martha’s Vineyard, and set in the historic fishing village of Menemsha, the latest Up Island novel finds bookshop owner Maddie Clark facing a new set of joys and trials. . .

Maddie, Rex, and their beloved surprise baby, Liliana, are officially a family. The Vineyard is in bloom with late spring pastels, and Maddie’s bookshop, her grown son, and Grandma are thriving. Alas, a phone call from Maddie’s attorney brings sad news. His mother, Evelyn, is dead. Evelyn was like a sister to Maddie’s late mother. More recently, Maddie’s father had grown close to her.

Evelyn was found in her stately home’s award-winning garden. Natural causes are assumed—until an autopsy reveals Pokeweed poisoning. The leaves aren’t normally toxic, though combined with Evelyn’s heart condition they could be. But did she even grow Pokeweed? Could her death have been a mistake . . . a suicide . . . or foul play?

Amid the troubling questions, Maddie is in for more unexpected news—a bequest that will grant her a large responsibility and a not-so-small fortune. But she’s barely absorbed the information when a hidden part of Rex’s past surfaces and threatens their marital idyll. Then a shocking arrest is made for Evelyn’s murder. Certain the police are wrong, Maddie is determined to unearth the truth—a pursuit that will test her most cherished bonds like never before . . .

A new life filled with the celebrated seaside charm and small-town heart of Martha’s Vineyard, a newfound family, romance—and an exciting venture. What more could Maddie Clarke ask for?
And why would anyone want to stop her?

It’s been a life-changing year since Maddie moved to the picturesque, historic fishing village of Menemsha on Martha’s Vineyard, where her late mother was born. Maddie has rediscovered her grandmother as well as her own Indigenous roots as half Wampanoag, along with the tribe’s rich history and traditions. She’s also found an unexpected second chance at love with restauranteur Rex Winsted. And then she spots a vacant shop right on the harbor . . .

Maddie boldly decides to end her days as a college journalism professor and open a bookshop that will also serve teas her grandmother makes from island herbs. Maddie’s son, Rafe, a college senior, plans to craft baskets in the ancient Wampanoag way, sell them at the store, and donate the profits to benefit Wampanoag kids. For Maddie, it’s all too good to be true . . . until the threats begin.

Not wanting to spoil the dream, Maddie tells no one. But an unexpected incident makes the situation worse, and just as the shop is about to open, revelations from the past erupt. And another surprise ahead could radically impact not only Maddie’s future, but Rex’s, too. Facing a decision she never saw coming, Maddie learns that even peaceful waters must weather storms . . .

With all the seaside charm and small-town heart that have made fans of Debbie Macomber and Elin Hilderbrand fall in love with her Martha’s Vineyard-set novels, Jean Stone transports readers to a picturesque side of the island rarely visited by tourists, as an archeology professor inherits a quaint cottage that will change her life forever…

She’s coming back to the home she didn’t know she had . . .

The quaint, historic fishing village of Menemsha is a side of Martha’s Vineyard that tourists don’t always see. Maddie Clarke’s late mother was born on the Vineyard, and Maddie hazily recalls childhood visits to her Grandma Nancy’s cottage above Menemsha Harbor. Now divorced with a teenage son, Maddie is awaiting news of a tenureship at her Massachusetts college when a letter arrives that could change everything . . .

It turns out Grandma Nancy didn’t die long ago, as Maddie believed. In fact, Nancy just passed away at 89—and left Maddie her gray-shingled cottage. Maddie intends her visit to Martha’s Vineyard to be a brief one, just long enough to settle the estate and sell the cottage. But on arriving in Menemsha, she finds far more than memories . . .

There are other family secrets waiting to be uncovered, and a Native American heritage Maddie knew nothing about. Most surprising of all, there is the glimmer of a very different future—a chance to connect with her people and find herself, and perhaps find love, on this beautiful, celebrated island . . .