The Party Line

A niece’s inheritance comes with family secrets, new romance, and sweet Texas strawberries in a refreshing and warmhearted novel by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.

Returning home to Ditto, Texas, is bittersweet for Lila Matthews. Her dear and feisty aunt Gracie has passed away, leaving Lila her estate. That includes a centuries-old house, a field of the freshest strawberries in Atascosa County, more money than Lila can count, and a secret Aunt Gracie took to her grave. All the angels in heaven won’t be able to pry it out of her.

For more than eighty years, generations of folks in Ditto have whispered and gossiped about what the secret could be. When Lila inherits Aunt Gracie’s legacy, ears perk up and tongues start wagging. As Lila reacquaints herself with locals, finds warmth in family—extended and otherwise—and cozies up to a handsome new neighbor, she begins collecting clues to the past. They’re revealing an Aunt Gracie nobody knew—and a life of rebellion, broken hearts, and selfless love that affected more people than anyone realized.

Whatever reason Aunt Gracie had for leaving Lila the secret, will it now be Lila’s secret to keep?

Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author and RITA finalist with more than 130 published books. She has written women’s fiction, historical and contemporary romance, and cowboys-and-country-music novels. She lives in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, knows what they are doing and when, and reads the local newspaper on Wednesday to see who got caught. She and her late husband, Mr. B, are parents to three grown children and too many grandchildren and great-grandchildren to count on the fingers and toes of one person. For more information, visit www.carolynbrownbooks.com.