For fans of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, comes an “astonishingly profound…exquisitely written drama” (Caroline Leavitt,New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You ) about a husband and a wife, a missing child, and the complicated family secrets that can derail even the best of marriages.
It’s been a busy—and expensive—few years for Matt and Elise Sorenson and their young daughter Gracie, whom they affectionately call Little Green. Matt, a Manhattan lawyer, has just been offered a partnership, and Elise’s equestrian ambitions as a competitive dressage rider may finally vault her into the Olympics. But her long absences from home and endless hours of training have strained their relationships nearly to the breaking point.
Now they’re up in the Adirondacks, preparing to sell the valuable lakefront cabin that’s been in Matt’s family for generations. Both he and Elise agree it’s time to let it go. But as they navigate the memories the cabin holds—and come face to face with Matt’s teenage crush, now an unnervingly attractive single mother living right next door—Gracie disappears without a trace.
Faced with the possibility that they’ll never see their daughter again, Elise and Matt struggle to come to terms with what their future may bring. The fate of the family property, the history of this not-so-tiny town, and the limits of Matt and Elise’s love for each other are inextricably bound up with Gracie’s disappearance. Everything for the Sorenson family is about to change—the messy tangle of their past, the harrowing truth of their present, and whether or not their love will survive a parent’s worst nightmare. **
Review
"How much stress can a marriage take? Tish Cohen answers this question with skill and artistry, capturing subtle shifts in mood and feeling as she escalates the pressure on her characters. They’re forced to face their own foibles and weaknesses as well as each other’s as they confront the mystery at the heart of this story. Atmospheric and compulsively readable.”
(Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author )
" The Summer We Lost Her is a compelling and complex portrait of a marriage and regret. Cohen spins a moving story with a high-stakes plot that won't let you go until you know the family's fate." (Heidi W. Durrow, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky )
"Cohen writes with command of a strained marriage facing unfathomable challenge, knowing precisely when to reveal and when to withhold. Deftly plotted and tensely paced, The Summer We Lost Her ** is impossible to put down." (Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author of The Painted Girls )
"At first glance Tish Cohen’s astonishingly profound novel is an exquisitely written drama about a missing disabled little girl, but brace yourself, because that’s just the top layer. Set against the background of competitive equestrian riding, The Summer We Lost Her dazzlingly unfolds the complexities of a fracturing marriage, the secrets we build our dreams on, and the fierce yearning to be someone other than who we really are. Compassionate, startling, and so full of life, the pages breathe." (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, Is This Tomorrow, and Cruel Beautiful World )
"A complex and beautifully told story of a marriage in crisis, and the myriad ways our personal histories and our regrets come back to haunt us. Tish Cohen's characters are complicated and flawed and wonderfully precise, and somehow, by the time you turn the final pages of The Summer We Lost Her , they come to feel like family." (Julie Buxbaum, New York Times bestselling author of What To Say Next )
“In this gripping and searing portrait of a marriage on the brink, Tish Cohen kept me on the edge of my seat through every twist and turn of her cleverly crafted plot.” (Nicola Kraus, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Nanny Diaries )
“A sharp, suspenseful portrait of a family on the verge of collapse.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"Nuanced characters and high-stakes drama drive the plot in Cohen’s latest. Tense and emotional, readers will keep turning pages to find out if Gracie is returned home safely." (Publishers Weekly)
"Fans of Kristin Hannah and Jodi Picoult will enjoy this intense, character-driven story with the fate of a marriage at its heart." (Booklist)
From the Back Cover
Our truest selves are revealed in our darkest moments Elise Sorenson has been striving for the Olympics for as long as she can remember. The months of intense training and competition in the world of horse shows take her away, far too often, from her husband, Matt, and their eight-year-old daughter, Gracie. Matt, a lawyer still vying to make partner at fifty, has made huge sacrifices in his career to be Gracie’s primary caregiver. This was the deal Elise and Matt struck, but it’s no longer working. Their finances and their relationship are strained to the point of snapping, and they’re forced to sell the lakeside cabin that has been in Matt’s family for generations to pay for yet another year of riding and school fees and the physiotherapy Gracie needs for her disability. When the Sorensons arrive in Lake Placid to prepare the cabin for sale, Matt is taken aback by the frosty reception from locals who’ve always revered his family. What could have possibly changed? But all Matt and Elise’s worldly problems fade when the unthinkable happens to their daughter. In the panic and confusion that follow, the fault lines in their marriage crack wide open, allowing long-held resentments and blame to come bursting to the surface.