Introduction

Something strange is happening in Seabrook. The town's lighthouse — dormant for over 30 years — has inexplicably started shining, and its mysterious glow is sparking feverish gossip throughout the spooked community.

Amy Tucker is only visiting and has no plans to get caught up in the hysteria, but that changes when she meets Ryan, the loyal, hard-working son of a ranch owner. The two of them forge a deep connection, opening their hearts, baring their souls, and revealing secrets long kept hidden.

But a startling discovery about Ryan leaves Amy questioning everything she thought she knew. To uncover the truth, she'll need to enter Seabrook’s ominous tower, where waiting inside she'll find a shocking secret that will change the course of their lives forever.

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Excerpt

Amy, where on Earth have you been?”

Amy didn’t know what had given her away—the security light, the creak of the gate, or the sound of her footsteps as she’d snuck along the pebbled path. The truth was that she hadn’t meant to come home so late. She had been visiting her mother and simply lost track of time, a mistake she instantly regretted when she discovered her father anxiously waiting for her on their front porch.

“Well?” he growled. “Speak up.”

Amy stuck her head down and tried to squeeze through the narrow gap between him and the door. “I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

“You’re sorry? That’s it?”

“I’m tired, Dad. I just want to go to bed.”

Amy pushed her way inside and made straight for her room, desperately hoping that he would save his interrogation for morning. But considering her father’s line of work—he was a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division of the Oregon State Police—that

seemed highly unlikely.

“I asked you a question. Where were you?”

“Can we do this tomorrow? Please?”

“No, we can’t.” He chased Amy down the hall and into her bedroom, his tone growing more tempestuous. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

Amy drew her curtains shut, plugged in her phone, switched on her lamp—whatever she could do to avoid eye contact.

“Amy, are you hearing me?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “I hear you.”

“Well? Will you tell me where you disappeared to?”

“I didn’t disappear. I was visiting Mom.”

“You can’t be serious. You mean to tell me you’ve been at the cemetery this whole time?”

She turned to face him. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Aside from the fact that you should have called to let me know? Why haven’t you been picking up your phone?”

“The battery died. I didn’t realize it was so late. I didn’t know you’d be so worried. I’m sorry, all right?”

“Sorry isn’t good enough, Amy. You’re eighteen years old. I know you miss your mother, but it’s completely irresponsible for you to be wandering around the cemetery by yourself at this ridiculous hour.”

And there it was again, thought Amy, the beginning of yet another lecture. He’d been like this since the day of the funeral: critical of almost everything she did. If he wasn’t micromanaging how much she was eating, or fussing over how much sleep she was getting, then

he’d be second-guessing her every decision, just as he was doing tonight, or like yesterday when he’d urged her to “take some more time” and not to “jump the gun” after she’d announced her plans to withdraw from college. They’d sparred over it for the better part of the day, and Amy wasn’t even sure why. The decision wasn’t permanent; it was, as the university soberly called it, a “special dispensation for a life-changing event,” which meant she could return to her studies

whenever she wanted, and yet the most her father could offer in response was a resigned, “All right, Amy, whatever you think is best.”

On the one hand she shouldn’t have been surprised. The two of them weren’t close, hadn’t been for a long time. Still, she’d never thought they’d end up like this, that they would become so . . . distant. It was as though the death of her mother had left a crater so

wide and pushed them so far apart that neither one of them knew who the other was anymore.

“Do you know what I was about to do?” Her father’s rising voice urged Amy back to the present. “I damn near called this in. I was this close to sending out a patrol to look for you.”

She shot him a stunned glare. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What did you expect? I couldn’t reach you.”

“I expect you to trust me, not order a citywide police hunt whenever I leave the house!”

“This isn’t about trust, Amy—it’s about me having some clue about where you are.” He paused to take a breath. “Look, I’m not pretending any of this is easy. I’m still trying to come to terms with the loss of your mother, just like you are. And, yes, I realize I’m doing a damn poor job of it. But despite everything that’s happened, I am still your father, and I don’t appreciate being treated as though I don’t exist.”

Amy resisted the urge to fight back and instead marched across the room and swung open her door. “Would you mind just leaving me alone? Please?”

“Why won’t you talk to me?” he said, making no effort to move. “All I want to do is help.”

“What’s the point, Dad? It’s not as if you can fix what’s happened.”

“I can’t fix anything if you won’t let me try.”

Amy rattled the door hard and pointed to the hall, a stampede of tears building behind her eyes. “I said you can’t, okay? This isn’t another case for you to solve. You can’t help, you can’t fix this—and I’m pretty sure you can’t bring Mom back—so will you please just leave me alone?”

“All right, Amy, fine—if that’s what you want.”

With his arms raised in surrender, her father turned and trudged out of the room.

And as soon as he was gone, Amy slammed the door. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

Kevin and Helen’s engagement is certainly ‘out of the box’. How would you like to be proposed to? Have you proposed/been proposed to in a unique way? Do you prefer grand gestures or do you prefer a traditional and straightforward proposal?

Amy and Ryan strike up a close bond very quickly after Amy’s brush with death. Do you believe it’s due to the circumstance of their meeting? How much? Do you believe two strangers can form a strong connection so fast?

After Ryan’s father’s stroke, Ryan decides to keep all business news away from his father despite desperately needing help to keep it afloat. Do you believe Ryan’s justification to keep his father in the dark was the right decision? What would you have done?

Kevin and Amy’s decision to move to the country is very sudden, but moving suddenly can also be a bit spontaneous and filled with adventure. Have you ever dreamed of packing everything up and moving someplace entirely new? Where would you go?

Aside from the experience with Ryan, Amy also spends time processing her mother’s death and reaches for her mother’s pendant often. How does her mother’s pendant play as a role in the story? How has Amy assigned meaning to the pendant? And how does it help with her grieving process?

Seabrook’s lighthouse is haunted, but also quite famous in the town for its haunting. Have you ever lived anywhere with a famous haunted setting? Is there a place you simply refuse to enter on account of what might be lurking inside?

There’s always a certain actor or personality we envision while reading a book. Christopher Parker includes his dream casting for the book if it made it to the big screen, but if you had a choice what actors & actresses could you see being perfect for some of these characters?

After Amy’s experience with Ryan, she’s able to soothe Little Dipper (his horse) very quickly from her anxiety. Without the experience, she wouldn’t have been able to do that. Do you have a skill you learned from a loved one? Do you believe that we each carry something of those that we love, or are we entirely separate and disconnected from each other?

One of the major themes of the book is purgatory and the afterlife; the ability to suspend yourself between the two worlds before crossing over. There were two significant characters who experienced purgatory throughout the story. Who were these characters and how did Amy react to both?

Another major theme of the book is grief and loss and the process of moving on. For Amy and Kevin, they’re both going through the loss of Amy’s mother in very different ways. How does the role of mental health and recovery from a loss play into the story? How do Kevin and Amy differ in their ways of coping with loss?

Ryan is persistent in trying to revive his family’s ranch, but struggles with keeping it open. However, for the love of his family, he continues on. Have you ever tried to keep something going after a loss? If you’re comfortable, please share.

The town of Seabrook is idyllic in its quaintness, but intriguing with its lighthouse and backstory. Can you think of any other fictional town that feels similarly to Seabrook?

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