The Lumber Baron’s Wife

A mysterious Michigan mansion and an unexplained disappearance link two women separated by more than a century in the enthralling latest from Austin (Waiting for Christmas). The first timeline unfolds in 1873, when Hannah Wagner and her doctor husband, John, arrive in a remote Michigan lumber town, recruited by John’s lumber baron friend, Henry Abernathy, to provide desperately needed medical care. Hannah quickly befriends Kate, Henry’s young, outspoken wife whose checkered past and taste for whiskey have made her something of a town pariah. As Hannah tries to teach Kate about God, she can’t help but worry about Kate’s rocky marriage, and her fears are confirmed when Kate vanishes under suspicious circumstances. The second timeline is set in the present day and stars Ashley Gilbert, an aspiring curator who’s moved to Michigan for her husband’s job, and volunteers to help turn the dilapidated Henry Abernathy mansion into a museum. When Ashley unearths Kate’s diary, she becomes determined to solve the mystery of her disappearance once and for all. Austin patiently stretches the story’s central mystery across the two timelines to keep readers invested, and Kate’s interspersed diary entries add immediacy and intrigue. The result is a captivating small-town mystery. (Apr.)