In the Middle of Hickory Lane

I've loved Heather Webber's books since I won an ARC of Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe. I've reviewed South of the Buttonwood Tree and The Lights of Sugarberry Cove and raved about them. Can a fourth book continue Ms. Webber's winning streak with me?

Absolutely.

Emme Wynn's mother uprooted Emme from Sweetgrass, Alabama years ago and took her young daughter along with her on a life of misdeeds and bad behavior. Emme cut ties with her when she turned eighteen and has been trying to build a life for herself free of her mother's malicious influence.

But now home has found Emme. Her grandmother, Glory, has located her and invited her to come back to Sweetgrass, with a job offer to boot. The day Emme arrives, the police have found a body in the community garden on Hickory Lane. The neighborhood is abuzz. Word has it the body might be Glory's long-lost sister.

It's tough for Emme to settle in. She tries, though, and slowly, she starts to embrace Sweetgrass. Glory has taken her in and is showing her the ropes of working at her shop. She's getting closer to her newfound cousin, Cora Bee. But Emme knows it can't last. She knows she hasn't been entirely truthful. She dreads the day she'll have to reveal her secret and fears she'll lose the new family and new home she's found.

Webber creates a realistic small-town setting, populated with people you feel like you might know. I love the neighborhood on Hickory Lane in particular. It's a place where people know and care about their neighbors. Sure, some of them might be a little nosey. But they generally poke their nose in your business because they care. That's the kind of place I want to live.

Each chapter was introduced with a bit of wisdom about the flowers that Glory was passing on to Emme. I thought that was a lovely touch.

The story deals with hard topics. An abusive and manipulative parent, a loved one missing for decades, a friend struggling with memory loss and independent living, poor choices leading to undesirable results. Secrets kept can become a burden. Each woman in the story has something she has not shared with others and each woman is impacted by what she is hiding. But in the right time, a secret can be revealed and that burden lifted. Webber does a wonderful job of demonstrating how liberating it is to trust the people in our lives enough to share with them we've tried so long to keep hidden.

Secrets come to light, family found, a little dollop of romance, the healing we find in love and community. All of this blended beautifully with Webber's trademark magical realism and whimsy adds up to a winner of a book.

Five stars, and if you haven't read her books, what are you waiting for?!

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Forge Books. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.