Bodies of Water by Rebecca Winterich-Knox

A mesmerizing glimpse into the lives of two families as they reunite at an ancestral manor to lay one of their own to rest—and reckon with long-buried secrets.

The coastal estate of Belle Ville sits majestic on the bluffs above Marmouth, Massachusetts, once a quiet, working-class community turned seasonal play-ground for wealthy summer residents. One such resident, Mats Rosenkratz, has returned to Belle Ville for a final time to scatter the ashes of his late wife, June, and reunite with the family they were once closest to: the Mackenzies.

But without June, the group’s dynamics have irrevocably changed, and the tension between them threatens to boil over. While Robert Mackenzie’s longtime jealousy of Mats surges to the surface, his wife, Calliope, channels her grief into increasingly desperate attempts at spiritual contact with June. At the same time, their children struggle with their own dilemmas—Bridget Mackenzie is pulled between the affections of troubled Noah Rosenkrantz and her new college girlfriend, and unbeknownst to the others, Eva Mackenzie whiles the hours away posting provocative photos online and meeting up with older men.

When Eva receives a message warning her to keep an eye on Mats, hidden truths about Belle Ville start to come to light, soon forcing the Rosenkrantz and Mackenzie families to contend with their pasts, themselves, and one another . . .

Reminiscent of Liz Moore's The God of the Woods and Catherine Newman's Sandwich, this sparkling debut novel will leave the reader spellbound as Rebecca Winterich-Knox reveals mystical truths about friendship, marriage, and the intimate claims we make on one another.