The Beach Trees — Karen White

IN THE AFTERMATH OF TRAGEDY, LIFE GOES ON -- PAINFUL AND FOREVER ALTERED, BUT RIPE WITH NEW BEGINNINGS. FOR JULIE HOLT, TRAVELING TO THE BEAUTIFUL BUT RAVAGED COAST OF BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, IS A JOURNEY INTO A SECRET PAST AND A LIFE SHE NEVER EXPECTED....

Julie first knew loss at the age of twelve, when her younger sister disappeared from their backyard -- never to be found. As her once close-knit family grew apart, Julie's mother obsessively searched for the girl, and when her mother died, Julie took up the search. Even as she went on with life, discovering a love for art that she attributed to her painter great-grandfather, she never let go of the hope that she might find her sister.

Then, while working at an auction house in New York, Julie meets Monica Guidry -- a struggling artist and single mother who reminds Julie so much of her sister that she can't help feeling drawn to her and even a bit protective. Monica paints a vivid picture of her Southern family through stories, but never says why or how she lost contact with them. And she has another secret: a heart condition that will soon take her life.

Feeling as if she's lost her sister a second time, Julie inherits from Monica a valuable portrait -- as well as custody of her young son. Taking him to Biloxi, Mississippi, to meet the family he's never known, Julie discovers a connection of her own. The portrait, which depicts a prominent Guidry family member, was done by her great-grandfather -- and unlocks a surprising family history....