A nurse has been murdered outside the town limits and a hermit who has been dubbed “The Woodsman” is suspected of petty thefts in local summer camps around the lake and has been arrested for the grisly murder.  When Loren learns that the Woodsman is someone who was very kind to her and her grandparents when she was a child, she sets out to prove his innocence. 

What she doesn’t realize is that in doing so, she may be turning all eyes to the ex-husband of her friend Kate. Tim has returned to town after leaving Kate and their daughter Josie over fourteen years ago and wants to re-establish a relationship with his daughter. His inability, or unwillingness, to provide his whereabouts the night of the murder may make his homecoming less than welcome.  

Loren juggles her duties as mayor with her new role as fiancée, friend to Kate and honorary aunt to Josie as she tries to help prove the Woodman’s innocence in spite of Deputy Jim Thompson’s admonitions to stay out of the murder investigation.  The characters in Emerald Point seem flat and spend much of their free time gossiping, something Loren professes to hate, yet she continues to spend time with these neighbors. 

Loren doesn’t realizes she is neglecting her new relationship; at the end of the book when Don has an announcement she is very surprised.  While readers will agree that Luke Prenderagst (the Woodsman) is innocent, they will not be terribly interested in learning who did kill Denise McNaughton.  At times, Tim’s return to Emerald Point does provide an interesting counterpoint to the murder, though Kate is mostly ignoring it and it is Josie who talks over with Loren the effects it could have on her family unit.                                                    

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry