Before and Again

January 1, 2018

People come to Devon, VT, to escape their pasts and reinvent themselves (a theme in recent fiction). Then a teenage hacker brings in the Feds and the press.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2018
A young woman loses her daughter in a car accident and struggles to build a new life for herself in the aftermath of tragedy.Mackenzie Cooper was driving her 5-year-old daughter to a play date when she missed a stop sign and collided with another car, killing both the other driver and her own daughter. A few years later, after Mackenzie has been divorced by her husband, dropped by her friends, disowned by her mother, and dragged through the mud by the press, she has finally created a quiet existence for herself. She lives in the sleepy town of Devon, Vermont, with two cats and a dog and works as a makeup artist at the spa in a local inn. She's changed her name to Maggie Reid, and almost no one in Devon knows about the accident or the probation officer who's been keeping tabs on her since that fateful day. Everything changes for Maggie the day her new friend Grace's son is criminally charged with high-profile computer hacking, bringing the press swarming to Devon and dredging up many painful memories for Maggie. Worse yet, when Maggie accompanies Grace to meet with an attorney, they bump into Maggie's ex-husband, Edward. Maggie learns that Edward has purchased the inn where she works, and he is moving to Devon. As Edward reaches out to Maggie with one overture after another, it quickly becomes apparent that the inn is not the only reason her ex was drawn to this particular town. Before she can reconcile with Edward, however, Maggie must find a way to accept the person she was before the accident and forgive herself for her past. Through a fast-paced and accessible narrative voice, Delinsky tackles many weighty issues in this complicated tale of friendship, loss, love, and redemption.A tale about surmounting life's most difficult moments and finding hope when one least expects it.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 23, 2018
In her deeply moving latest, Delinsky (The Woman Next Door) follows one woman’s journey of self-discovery as she learns to face the ghosts of her past. In a moment of distraction, Mackenzie Cooper accidentally ran a stop sign and caused the death of her five-year-old daughter, Lily, as well as the demise of her marriage. Shortly after, she moves from Massachusetts to the quaint town of Devon, Vt., where she goes by Maggie Reid, and, having abandoned her sculpting career, works at the Devon Inn and Spa as a makeup artist. She is constantly reminded of the accident by the scar on her forehead, which she carefully conceals, as well as the frequent meetings with her probation officer following her high-profile criminal conviction. Despite her probation officer’s warnings to distance herself from suspected criminals, Maggie provides emotional support for her friend Grace and Grace’s son, Chris, who is arrested for computer hacking. Maggie’s involvement thrusts her back into the media’s spotlight. Her reinvented life is further threatened when her ex-husband, Edward, moves to Devon and buys the Devon Inn. Delinsky’s novel expertly explores the depths of Maggie’s guilt and redemption, as she learns not only how to find closure from the tragedies of the past but to forge a future in which she can forgive herself. This is a rewarding, emotionally intense novel. 250,000-copy announced first printing.

March 1, 2018
Five years ago, Mackenzie Cooper took her eyes off the road for a split second and caused a crash that killed her daughter, Lily. Now she lives as Maggie Reid in sleepy Devon, Vermont, where folks accept her as a generous friend, talented potter, and make-up artist for the upscale spa at the inn without asking about her past. When the new owner of the inn turns out to be her ex-husband, Edward, she panics. But Edward's motivations are not sinister. He never stopped loving Mackenzie, but perhaps he hasn't fully dealt with Lily's death, either. Then Maggie's best friend Grace's teenage son is accused of hacking, and it looks like Grace has been hiding a past of her own. With a bucolic New England setting and an emotional story that plumbs depths without feeling too heavy, Delinsky (Blueprints, 2015) perfectly portrays the temptations of starting over and, in Edward, the necessity of being found again. This story of a competent woman realizing she deserves the perfect guy standing before her will appeal to readers of Nora Roberts and Elin Hildebrand. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A major advertising campaign targeting libraries, blogs, and book clubs will drop just in time for the beach-read season.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)