• Reading Order: Seaside Harmony, Sunflower Summer, Whispers on the Dock
• Publisher: Guideposts
• Subject: fiction
• Recommended by: library hook-up

This is a gentle, not Bible-thumping trilogy about 3 older sisters who gather after their mother’s passing in Nantucket, the scene of childhood holidays. There are a few mysteries to solve about their family history and that of the house, and the trilogy themes are fairly universal – love, acceptance & forgiveness.

Evangeline Kelley is the pen name for the writing team of Patti Berg, Pam Andrews & Barbara Hanson, and Camy Tang. Apparently this was their first time writing together, but the result is almost seamless and you can’t tell which author wrote which part – the sign of a good team! Everything meshes together to produce something that doesn’t appear rushed, doesn’t hurry you thru to the end, & isn’t sickly sweet. The series wraps up cleanly but not awkwardly. It is important to read these in order to enjoy.

There’s an interview with Camy Tang here  & one of the things she says rings true: Home really is where your heart is! It might be a bit overused today, but the sentiment is always true. God puts us in the specific places in our lives where we can serve Him, love others and learn the value of what He’s done in our lives.

Seaside Harmony – Book 1 When Caroline Marris joins her sisters, Gracie Gold and Sam Carter for a Nantucket Island getaway, she has no idea how it will change her life. The sisters stumble upon Misty Harbor Inn, the place their late mother loved so much, and Caroline talks her sisters into buying the beautiful but dilapidated inn. But can free-spirited Caroline stay focused enough to make opening the inn a reality? Hand-drawn old postcards draw the sisters into the mystery of Hannah Montague, the young widow of the original owner. Can the sisters uncover the fate of this woman who disappeared in 1880? As Caroline and her sisters work together to make their mom’s dream a reality, they bond in ways they never expected.

Sunflower Summer – book 2 Misty Harbor Inn officially opens, and Gracie Gold, the middle Marris sister, wrestles with an overwhelming decision. As the sisters learn the day-to-day workings of running an inn, Gracie counsels its first guests, newlyweds whose honeymoon seems to be ending before it begins. Meanwhile, Sam’s discovery of a clue in a secret room sheds unflattering light on Hannah Montague, who vanished from the house more than one hundred years ago. And as Gracie and Caroline welcome guests to the inn, they are delighted to see how God uses it — and them — to deepen relationships and transform lives.

Whispers on the Dock – book 3 As Nantucket reaches the pinnacle of its summer glory, and the Marris sisters welcome guests at Misty Harbor Inn, youngest sister Sam Carter enters her mother’s cobbler recipe in the Summerfest baking contest. But she faces a formidable opponent, a past winner who is determined to keep her title even if it means stooping to dirty tactics. Can Sam’s newfound faith help her rise above the fray and reach out to this lonely woman? Meanwhile, an elderly guest arrives who knows the inn’s history, and the sisters are stunned to learn that their late mother lived there as a child. But she told them she’d never been to Nantucket until her honeymoon! Through the woman’s reminiscences and photos, the sisters make an intriguing discovery — not only about the mysterious Hannah Montague, the young woman who disappeared from the house in 1880, but also about their own family history