Stone Creek (Coming on August 6, 2024)
Seventeen years ago, after living as a fugitive, Tilly Stone (then, age 13) is left to fend for herself in remote Pennsylvania when her infamous eco-terrorist father disappears under mysterious circumstances. She tries to forget the dams they blew up together and forge a new life until her father’s return threatens to upend her small-town world and her friendship with the dogged FBI agent still pursuing him. Ultimately, as the past and present detonate and blow up with more than one kind of casualty, Tilly must choose between the father she loves, the truth, and her home.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“…suggests shades of Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Kate Brandes is a remarkable author who has crafted a story that is a testament to the power of resilience and hope. In this inspiring journey, Brandes shares a story of courage and perseverance that fills us with optimism and determination for the future.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Simmering with suspense and brimming with heart, this beautiful story of heartache and resilience will linger long after its final pages.”
—Kimi Cunningham Grant, USA TODAY bestselling author of These Silent Woods
“Kate Brandes writes with a kindness and generosity rare in contemporary fiction. The story is well told and dramatic, but it’s her careful elaboration of the people and the natural world of Stone Creek, that stay with us. In this communion with every living thing, with the forces of creation, not destruction, Stone Creek can stand alongside the novels of Barbara Kingsolver and Wendell Berry.”
—Anna Kodama, poet and author of Lit Only By a Few Thousand Stars
“Through the specific and timely lens of ecoterrorism, Kate Brandes has created a moving story of a woman who still needs her father’s love, yet who fears that his infamy will threaten the secure if lonely life she’s built without him on the shaky foundation of their off-the-grid, anarchist past. From constantly building tension to exploding dams, book clubs will love discussing its many evocative layers.”
— Award-winning author Kathryn Craft (The Far End of Happy and The Art of Falling)
“In Stone Creek, author Kate Brandes considers the emotional as well as environmental fallout of sabotage, no matter how well intended. A beautiful coming-of-age story in a time of ecological crisis.”
— JoeAnn Hart, author of Arroyo Circle and Highwire Act & Other Tales of Survival.
“Kate Brandes’s keenly observed, loving descriptions of the natural world — the birds, trees, and wildflowers of Stone Creek — make a reader understand why her characters are willing to fight to protect it. A well-plotted tale exploring the choices we make to care for the places and people we love, this novel is sure to be a book club favorite.”
—Jenn Rossmann, author of The Place You’re Supposed to Laugh