Secrets in the Moss

This story of intrigue mystery and romance is based on true events. On the Mobile River Delta in Alabama the lives of a widowed psychiatrist and her neighbor intersect with that of a mysterious and reclusive woman. Tilley McMillan lives in Mobile with her young son Jake. Although she has a thriving psychiatry practice and a circle of close friends shes reluctant to start dating again. Her beauty and compassion do not go unnoticed by her neighbor James Riverton a successful mortgage broker. Hes attracted to her but a painful breakup with his fiancée makes him wary of risking rejection. Far from Tilley and James Cleo Thibodeaux calls the swampy Mobile River Delta home. Raised there by her father after the death of her mother she spends her days collecting ingredients for poultices that heal wounds or ward off insects. She is mourning a child lost; Cleos father took her baby the product of rape away. Eventually Tilley and James start dating but their relationship is complicated by his fling with a mentally unstable divorcee named Charlotte Weldridge. When Tilley becomes Charlottes therapist she learns unsettling details about James and her patient that she must keep confidential. As Tilley and James discover the extent of Charlottes instability a twist of fate brings Cleo into their lives. Rouse (Highway 90 South) weaves together several storylines in her second novel while introducing a compelling cast of characters. Tilley the likeable and compassionate heroine has a solid romantic counterpart in James. Their relationship is sexy and poignant. Cleo manages to overcome a difficult upbringing to become a resourceful woman. Her story helps drive the action in the second half of the book. This is an ambitious narrative that takes many twists and turns (Kirkus).