Up close, the cottage is tiny and perfect, with fresh paint on the walls and the scent of roses in the air. A bicycle with a woven basket at the front is at the end of the veranda. And on the lake, a wooden rowboat floats loose. She shouldn’t intrude, but Sadie thinks again of the woman’s ‘I need to find my family. Will you help me?’ Sadie Forest hasn’t lived in Rivers End for fifteen years. Not since she was eighteen when, after a devastating argument with her father, she packed her bags and left. Not until now. Now, Sadie’s father is dead and her mother Pam is struggling to run the family inn alone. Sadie tells herself she’ll help her mother sort out the business and then leave again as quickly as possible. But Rivers End has a way of pulling you back in. When Sadie arrives, she finds a town that’s both nothing and everything like she remembered. On a bittersweet exploration of her old childhood haunts, Sadie meets construction company boss Dan, and Rebecca, the reclusive new owner of the solitary cottage at the edge of nearby Whisper Lake. The old woman’s request for help touches Sadie’s heart. And draws her into a decades-old mystery. By helping Rebecca to lay her ghosts to rest, could it be time for Sadie to face the trauma in her own past, and against the beautiful coastal backdrop she once called home, can she find a way to heal? Be swept away to glorious coastal Victoria in this gripping story about old family secrets, homecoming and making peace with the past.

Twenty-five years ago, Joanna Johnson fled her hometown of Rivers End, leaving behind her best friend, her first love, and a dark secret. When a mysterious letter arrives, she’s forced to confront the past she’s tried so hard to forget… Returning to the picturesque coastal town, Joanna is drawn back into the world she left behind. Walking along the sandy stretch of beach below her aunt’s cottage in Willow Bay, the memories come flooding back of all the dreams she cherished until betrayal and a stormy night at sea tore them apart. When she runs into her first love, Lucas, now a single father, Joanna feels a spark between them once more. Can she dare to rekindle a relationship she thought lost forever? When pieces of an old shipwreck begin washing ashore, the answer might be made for her… As the yacht surfaces, bringing Joanna’s secrets with it, can she find the courage to trust Lucas with the truth about the night she ran? Or will holding on to the past force her to leave Rivers End behind once again…? The Secrets of Willow Bay is a captivating tale of second chances, forgiveness, and the enduring power of friendship.