Title: The Girls in Cabin Number Three
Author: Chrysteen Braun
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Cozy Noir Mystery
Book Blurb:
"With themes of love, family, friendship, new beginnings, and the complexity of life, readers will get hooked from the very beginning." —San Francisco Book Review
"[The Girls in Cabin Number Three]'s complex, interesting characters, and engrossing historical and geographical settings make it a must-read." —Readers' Favorite
“Braun’s a top-notch storyteller; The Girls in Cabin Number Three is well plotted with clearly defined and relatable characters. Her research is exemplary.”
—Kate Osborn, formerly with the Mountain News, Lake Arrowhead
“Annie meets Carrie Davis, a new guest who slowly begins to unravel secrets from her own family’s past in the second part of The Guest Book Trilogy: The Girls in Cabin Number Three… with plenty of intrigue in an idyllic mountain locale.”
—Susan Denley, former Associate Features Editor, Los Angeles Times.
In book two of the Guest Book Trilogy, eighty-one-year-old Annie Parker recounts taking on, against the wishes of her new love Noah, an out-of-town design project that leads her down a path that is more than she bargained for.
Back in Lake Arrowhead, California, a long-awaited mystery is buried in Cabin Number Three. Annie meets Carrie Davis who wants to update her childhood home on the lake and feels a tie to Annie’s cabins. Apparently, Carrie’s parents stayed here during the Roaring ‘20s when Bugsy Siegel ran an underground speakeasy and distillery. Unconvinced, Annie decides to investigate and finds their names in the old guest books—Elizabeth Davis and Thomas Meyer. As exciting as that sounds, it’s only the start of a winding tale that Carrie and the new man in her life uncover. The pair unravel a family history filled with gangsters, working girls, and a surprising twist to a family tree.
The Girls in Cabin Number Three combines women’s fiction with romance, cozy noir mystery, and suspense—all wrapped up in the majestic environs of this lovely lakeside haven.
Excerpt:
I looked up my mother’s address in my map book and then found a place to stop for lunch at a small coffee shop on main street. It turned out to be on the original Route 66, and not too far from her place. She’d been living in Barstow for several years now, and even though it was only about two hours out of Las Vegas, it was the first time I’d driven out to see her.
When I pulled onto a badly paved road, misgivings about seeing her only got worse and then I ended up on a dirt road that stopped right in front of her house trailer. I waited a few seconds to let the dust settle around me before I got out of the car.
The moment she came to the door, I knew I’d made a mistake. She was dressed in an old housecoat and her bare feet were dirty. I was taken by surprise, and it threw me off balance.
“Well, you came to see me after all,” she said, taking a drag off her cigarette.
Once inside, I could see the carpet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned, ever, and the fabric on the recliner chairs and sofa had darkened where body oils had discolored the arms and backs. I could hardly bear to be in the house, much less sit when she motioned me to one of the dinette chairs.
I hadn’t spoken with her in about a year, which she quickly brought up.
“I don’t hear from anyone much anymore,” she said.
I knew why. I wanted to say, ‘have you ever thought about the way you treated us when we were growing up?’ But I didn’t. She looked old for her fifty-four years. She’d done nothing to disguise about two inches of her gray roots, and I noticed she had dandruff. Her eyes were puffy, and her skin was pale, which was unusual, especially since she lived in Barstow where the sun was so hot.
“When was the last time you heard from the girls?” I was referring to my sisters, Jess, Beth and Ruby. They all knew where I lived, and we’d kept in touch, but I was curious if my mother had heard anything from them recently.
“It’s been a while, but I think they’re all okay. I did my best, you know...” she said, and then asked if I wanted some ice water. She didn’t wait for my answer, but brought out a water stained glass with cold water in it. It was cold and wet, which was appreciated.
“So...I got married...” she mumbled.
I thought I was going to choke on my water.
“You have?”
“Yes, and he’s a very nice man. Name’s Charlie...he lives here with me...” She fidgeted with her housecoat, trying to cover her knobby knees.
“Where’d you meet him?” I asked.
“Well...he works at the diner as a cook. I work there too. And we got to know each other and, well, here we are.”
“How long?”
“About six months.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
It’s a brand-new year, full of possibilities. Did you make any resolutions/goals for2024? If so, please share one.
I've learned to quit making resolutions. They're the same ones every year and if I did them I wouldn't have to resolve to do them again! Seriously, I'd like to read more, eat less and publish more books!
Why is your featured book a must-read in 2024?
If you didn't put the Guest Book Trilogy on your must-read list, then you must. And you'd better get started since books 4 & 5 are coming out this year!
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs January 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on February 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Chrysteen Braun is a California native, born and raised in Long Beach.
The Lake Arrowhead mountains, where she and her husband had a second home, were the inspiration for her first three books, The Guestbook Trilogy. These fictional restored cabins from the late 1920s all had their own stories to tell. Through their children, readers get their first glimpse of who stayed in the cabins, but not why.
Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over.
"A touching novel charting two women’s parallel lives, tied together by mysteries, transformation, and a cabin." —Booklife
"Braun delivers a moving portrayal of a young woman searching for herself amid personal upheaval." —Booklife
"Masterfully written, intriguing, mystifying, and spooky are how I would classify The Man in Cabin Number Five by Chrysteen Braun. As a great background, Braun uses the mountainous area and cabins to her advantage in telling the stories of Annie and Alyce. This is an exceptional plot, never leading the reader too far from the original storyline. Her character development is outstanding. I was able to feel everything Annie felt." Teresa Syms for Readers' Favorite Book Reviews and Awards.
"In The Man in Cabin Number Five, Chrysteen Braun narrates a deeply compelling, inspiring, and adorable narrative about the mountainside cabins of Lake Arrowhead, shocking secrets, and two women that are linked to the cabins in different ways—one by a buried past and the other by optimistic plans for the future.
"Chrysteen Braun does a mind-blowing job of building the characters and making them lifelike and easy to relate to. The first-person narrative is done to perfection as it reads like the narrators are speaking to friends—natural, lively, and jovial. I laughed out loud when I read the part where Anne claims that a bag of chips and a soda are "just what the doctor ordered.
"The Man in Cabin Number Five inspires anyone recovering from betrayal and infidelity to keep living and working towards a better future. The picturesque descriptions of the scenes and characters will appeal to readers who wish to get completely immersed in and escape into a fictional world. Chrysteen Braun creates a masterpiece with smooth storytelling that juxtaposes the serenity of the mountains with the eruptive chaos of dangerous secrets and ends with a bang. What a terrific story! What a talented writer!" Foluso Falaye, for the San Francisco Book Review.
Her writing crosses genres with Women's Fiction with relationships, and a little mystery and intrigue. She's published articles about her field of interior design and remodeling, both for trade publications and her local newspaper and has just received a Book Excellence Award for The Man in Cabin Number Five.
Braun lives in Coto de Caza, California (southern Orange County) with her husband Larry and two Siamese cats.
Social Media Links:
Website https://chrysteenbraun.com/
Find her everywhere https://linktr.ee/chrysteenbraunauthor