Out of the Rain

At the start of this unsettling sequel to The Umbrella Lady from the anonymous author continuing the Andrews franchise, teenager Saffron Anders arrives by train in Sandberg Creek, the home of her well-to-do father, Derick, who abandoned her when she was eight. Saffron has nowhere else to go after the death of the old lady who took her in as a child and turned out to be her grandmother. Derick, who now lives with his second wife, Ava, and two children, ninth grader Karen and a baby son, agrees to take Saffron in as his niece. Saffron reluctantly agrees to pretend that her mother, Derick’s first wife, was in fact his adopted sister who died and that his brother-in-law abandoned Saffron when she was a baby. Under the controlling Ava, Saffron tries to bond with Karen and navigate through the social structure of a new private high school. Meanwhile, she lives in constant fear her lies will be exposed. The tension rises with the revelation of the secrets the deceitful Derick has been keeping from Saffron. The skill with which the author captures Andrews’s style bodes well for future entries. Agent: Alec Shane, Writers House. (Oct.)