THE LIGHT IN SUMMER – Mary McNear
A Butternut Lake Novel , Book 5
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0-06-239937-3
July 2017
Women's Fiction/Romance

Present Day Butternut Lake, Minnesota

Librarian Billy Harper is just closing up for the day when Rae, her assistant, urges her to check out the view from the front window. Rae is always coaxing Billy to get a life besides books. What Billy sees is a sharp looking Porsche, an unusual sight in the small town filled with family cars and trucks. But Rae impatiently calls her attention to the good-looking man who just parked the car. Between her job and her son, Luke, Billy has no time for men. Luke is the result of her losing her virginity during a one night affair at eighteen while on a fishing trip with her father. She never saw the man again, nor could she find him when she eventually became aware of her condition. She and Luke were lucky she had such loving parents. Luke, now thirteen, has recently made new friends who are a bad influence on him, especially after losing his beloved grandfather.

Cal Cooper is not truly a stranger to Butternut. He grew up spending summers here before leaving for college and then Seattle where he established a successful architecture firm in partnership with a friend. He's here now to spend a time away from Seattle while getting a divorce from his wife. The family still has a cabin on the lake, and his sister, Allie, lives in another with her husband and children.

While Billy, Luke, and Cal are the major players in the dramas to unfold in THE LIGHT IN SUMMER, they are not the only persons of interest. The town's population is only 1,200, and there are four earlier books in this series, so faithful readers will find old friends. New readers will have no problem, however; Ms. McNear is very good at her job. The book consists of fifty-six short chapters, each one adding to plot and to character development. The focus is mainly on the latter, so one gets to know—and care—about them.

Is there suspense? Yes. What happens between Billy and Luke; Billy and Cal, and does Luke's father's whereabouts ever become known? Don't miss this satisfying trip to the lake in the north woods.

Jane Bowers