The Beach Trees

From theNew York Timesbestselling author of the Tradd Street novelscomesthe story of one womans journey into a secret pastand a life she never expected on the ravaged coast of Biloxi Mississippi.... Working at an auction house in New York Julie Holt meets a struggling artist and single mother who reminds her very much of her missing younger sister. Monica Guidry 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 shes lost her sister a second time Julie inherits from Monica an antique portraitas well as custody of her young son. Taking him to Biloxi Mississippi to meet the family hes never known Julie discovers a connection of her own. The portrait of an old Guidry relative was done by her great-grandfatherand unlocks a surprising family history....INCLUDES A READERS GUIDE AND AN EXCERPT OF DREAMS OF FALLING