WHEN YOU LOVED ME

Following her father’s mysterious death, a young woman returns to her childhood home, unexpectedly reuniting with her first great love and uncovering lingering family secrets.

As Lucy Cooper delivers the eulogy at her father’s funeral on Winthrop Island, a Northeast vacation spot where her dad lived year-round, she can’t believe he’s gone. It’s been years since she’s seen him, both because of her relocation to Europe and her dad’s embarrassing obsession with chasing pirate treasure. Lucy is surprised to discover that her long-ago crush, Ben Ressler, has returned to the island to nurse his own wounds. A disgraced NFL player, Ben recently made a tackle that caused another player’s death; the fallout ended both his career and his marriage. While Lucy and Ben try to grieve their losses, they find themselves drawn to each other again. Meanwhile someone is targeting Lucy, breaking into her father’s house and intentionally unsettling her for reasons she can’t glean. As she searches for answers, the narrative shifts to two other timelines: First, flashbacks to Lucy and Ben’s high school courtship in 2012; and 1717, when a young woman named Hephzibah met the pirate Ramsay. As the stories progress in tandem, it becomes clear that Lucy’s father’s treasure hunt may not have been so crazy after all, and that Lucy and Ben might still find happiness together. The chapters alternate among characters, portraying Lucy in first person, with Ben and Hephzibah’s chapters in a more distant third. The portions focused on Lucy and Ben are instantly engaging, while Hephzibah’s story gets off to a much slower start, the temporal and tonal shifts feeling abrupt and out of sync with the tenor of the more modern tale. Readers may be tempted to skim in order to get back to Lucy or Ben, but the plotlines gradually interconnect, rendering the 1717 tale more absorbing as it progresses. A particular strength of the book is the setting of Winthrop Island, atmospheric in its isolation, with uncontrolled natural elements and community elements enriching the story. Similarly, as Lucy and Hephzibah each battle villains, the author eventually brings the suspense to a breathtaking crescendo that makes the entire book worthwhile.

An engaging tale that provides a fresh look at the importance of second chances.