The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Long-kept mysteries about her lost sister and their early years spent in the English countryside during World War II are exposed when a lady finds a unique book that has ties to her history.

Hazel, then fourteen, and Flora, then five, are evacuated to a remote area in war-torn London in 1939 so they might escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living in a quaint stone cottage beside the River Thames with the gracious Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son Harry, Hazel keeps her younger sister occupied with games and walks. She even writes a fairy tale just for her sister, which is about a magical land and a private haven where they can escape to.

However, the unimaginable occurs when little Flora abruptly disappears while playing on the river's edge. Broken, Hazel holds herself responsible for her sister's absence, a personal responsibility that she believes she deserves to carry into adulthood.

After two decades, Hazel finds herself in London, prepared to leave her position at a small, obscure bookshop and pursue a career at Sotheby's. Hazel looks to have a certain future since she has a handsome boyfriend and a nicely worn Bloomsbury apartment. However, when she opens a parcel that contains an illustrated book named Whisperwood and the River of Stars, her orderly existence is completely upended. Hazel kept the fantasy world she made up exclusively for Flora a secret from everyone. Could the answers to Flora's disappearance be found in this book? Is it a sign that, after all these years, her beloved sister is still alive?

Hazel's job and future are in jeopardy as she sets out on a maddening journey, reviving long-ago romantic relationships and fearlessly exposing old hurts. In this enchanting and wonderfully unique tale about the relationship between sisters, the complexities of divided love, and the eternal charm of storytelling, an incredible twist eventually exposes the truth.