When Emily and her family move back to Nova Scotia from Calgary, it is a return to the coastal landscape that already haunts her—and the waters where her father died. She meets her neighbour Linda, a gruff but loving widow and Linda’s grown son, Tom, who struggles to stay on an even keel. As they settle in, Emily and her husband, Daniel, learn more about the short but turbulent history of the house they’ve just bought. With Daniel away for work, Emily becomes caught up in the lives of her neighbours, relying on Linda’s friendship and growing closer to Tom, despite his unsettling knack for appearing when she least expects him. As the tension in each family builds, both Emily and Linda must confront long-unanswered questions.

Nicola Davison's first novel, In the Wake, won the 2019 Margaret and John Savage First Book Award, the Miramichi Reader's Very Best Book Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Dartmouth Book Award. A graduate of Dalhousie University and the Alistair MacLeod Mentorship Program, she's an active member of the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia and can be spotted at most events toting a cumbersome camera. Her meandering path to writing this novel included time working at an animal shelter, several veterinary clinics, and a dog daycare. Now a professional photographer, she lives in Dartmouth with her husband, son, and a stubborn but delightful basset hound who is terrified of cats. She has no idea how to use Morse code. She's not even that good at texting. www.nicoladavison.ca

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