It’s 1963 and it’s summertime in northern Michigan. Burt feels lost when he falls for Maggie again. But this is the summer when everything changes. In this book you will travel to a northern Michigan town that is still charming and rustic, and brilliantly captures lives that have been marked by loss, perseverance, an abiding faith and the love of friends and family as it sojourns between sentiment and satire. You will hear an unaccustomed rhythm in the voices of the Whispering Pines Inn as it is recounted here in loving detail. Poignant and funny, it will have you laughing out loud and sometimes crying about an unforgettable unforgettable boy and girl coming of age pre-World War II America in East Jordan Michigan along the shores of Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan. At 43 years old, Maggie finds herself struggling with the difficulties of bringing the inn back to its glory days, all while navigating small town politics, sketchy guests, and realizing she has come to love and need her childhood friend Burt despite rejecting his romantic gestures. Entertaining adventures ensue with a unique cast of staff and guests, including Bob the barber from Detroit, Chef Claude from France, Madame Zoshia the con artist and fortune teller, Louie and the college freshmen from the Quiet Loon Golf and Gun Club, Johanna the geology professor from the U.P., Winston and his brief romantic moonlight cruise in a borrowed Chris Craft, and many others who meet at the Chat and Chew Cafe. Although the Falling Pines needs a lot of hard work to renew its once prestigious reputation, Maggie discovers that there are many insightful memories to be found along the way and a chance to remedy regrets and renew love. A delightful novel for any reader and a nostalgic experience for anyone who has lived in Northern Michigan or seen the beauty the area possesses. Cynthia Williams gives her readers, and her characters, precisely what they crave–excitement, insight, joy, humor, hard reality, surprise, loyalty, hope and a sweet but uncompromising view of human nature. In Maggie and Burt we recognize the best and hardest aspects of youth, the fascination and fear of unrequited love, and our own first loves. The author leads her heroine and hero into adulthood while inspiring readers with deeply moving plot twists and inexhaustibly entertaining characters. The Whispering Pines Inn is comparable with Empire Falls.
