by Mary Beth Keane (2009)
Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York. Labeled a "softheaded goose" by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living. Though she longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself, her decision to spare her children knowledge of a secret in her past forces her to keep her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, and tears her apart from the people she is closest to. Even fifty years later, when the Ireland of her memory bears little resemblance to that of present day, she fears that it is still possible to lose all when she discovers that her children--with the best of intentions--have conspired to unite the worlds she's so carefully kept separate for decades.
Téa Obreht
Remembering childhood stories her grandfather once told her, young physician Natalia becomes convinced that he spent his last days searching for "the deathless man," a vagabond who claimed to be immortal. As Natalia struggles to understand why her grandfather, a deeply rational man would go on such a farfetched journey, she stumbles across a clue that leads her to the extraordinary story of the tiger's wife.
Karen Kingsbury
A story of secrets, broken relationships, and a love strong enough to reunite a family. A stirring novel from New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury.
Mary-Beth Hughes
From the outside in, the Devlin family lead almost perfect lives. Dashing father Nick is a successful businessman long married to sweetheart Jean, who upholds the family home and entertains, while daughter Lily attends Catholic school and is disciplined into modesty by the nuns. Under the surface, however, the Devlins are broken by the death of their little boy, Cubbie. When Nick's older brother, Lionel, a man driven by callous and rapacious urges, inducts Nick into the cutthroat world of cosmetics, Nick's sudden rise to the top brings the Devlin family to a fresh start in London, where they join the ranks of the city's social elite. But as the veneer of their glamorous new life abroad starts to wear thin, the Devlin family are further fragmented by betrayals and become victims of the cruelest kind of hurt.
Maeve Binchy
"Maeve Binchy, "the grand story teller, "* returns with a cast of characters you will never forget when they all spend a winter week together on holiday at Stone House, a restful inn by the sea ... Stoneyville is a small town on the coast of Ireland where all the families know each other. When Chicky decides to take an old decaying mansion, Stone House, and turn it into a restful place for a holiday by the sea, the town thinks she is crazy. She is helped by Rigger (a bad boy turned good who is handy around the place) and her niece Orla (a whiz at business). Finally the first week of paying guests arrive: John, the American movie star thinks he has arrived incognito; Winnie and Lillian, forced into taking a holiday together; Nuala and Henry, husband and wife, both doctors who have been shaken by seeing too much death; Anders, the Swedish boy, hates his father's business, but has a real talent for music; Miss Nell Howe, a retired school teacher, who criticizes everything and leaves a day early, much to everyone's relief; the Walls who have entered in 200 contests (and won everything from a microwave oven to velvet curtains, including the week at Stone House); and Freda, the psychic who is afraid of her own visions. You will laugh and cry as you spend the week with this odd group who share their secrets and might even have some of their dreams come true."--