The Cottage at Glass Beach
By Heather Barbieri

HarperCollins Publishers
May 15, 2012 / ISBN 978-0062107961
General fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Bob Walch

Nora Keane's life runs completely off the tracks when her husband's affair is uncovered and he refuses to part with his mistress. Since Malcolm also just happens to the Attorney General of Massachusetts, there's the kind of press coverage that normally wouldn't accompany such an intimate, family situation but now makes headlines.

To escape the political storm the revelation has created and to mull over what her next move will be, Nora takes her daughters and accepts an invitation from an aunt to visit a remote island off the coast of Maine.

Originally settled by Irish immigrants, Nora has visited the island since her youth and it was here, when she was just five years old, that her mother disappeared at sea. While staying on the island the distraught woman encounters Owen Kavanagh, a man with a mysterious past.

The local belief in old legends and the corresponding idea that one's tears flowing into the sea can call forth a mythical creature called a selkie give Nora cause to pause and wonder if there's not more to the enigmatic fisherman's appearance at this particular time in her life.

Not your typical island vacation, Nora's stay on Burke's Island will help her refocus not only her present life but also answer some questions about her past history.

Operating on a number of levels, this is a novel filled with sorrow, great passion and a startling revelation about what is really important in life. Once into it, you'll find "The Cottage at Glass Beach" is a mesmerizing story and impossible to set aside.