Hardcover.

Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion.

Jessie Sullivan’s conventional life has been "molded to the smallest space possible." So when she is called home to cope with her mother’s startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island - amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks - she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother’s tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right.

Fulfilling a wish for a member of PBS. Happy reading!

I received this from a member on paperbackswap, where it was on my wishlist for a while. I already read Secret Life of Bees by Kidd, so I wanted to read this too. I will repost it on pbs when I am finished reading it, as there are many people waiting for it.

CAUGHT IN ORLEANS MI USA

I got this book through a web group called Paperbackswap.com...I had read The Secret Life of Bees (her first book) and thought that she had a wonderful way of telling a story. Although I enjoyed this book, I liked her first better. I plan to repost it on Paperbackswap and hopefully another person can "catch this book"

CAUGHT IN PLYMOUTH MA USA