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N. N. Light
Oct 106 min read

The Guest Book Trilogy by Chrysteen Braun is a Trick or Treat Bonanza pick #historicalmystery #womensfiction #cozynoirmystery #spookyreads #giveaway



Title: The Guest Book Trilogy (turned into many more)

 

Author: Chrysteen Braun

 

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Women’s Fiction, Cozy Noir Mystery

 

When seven 1920 era cabins in Lake Arrowhead, California are restored to their original vintage charm, the new owner has no idea that the cabins have their own stories to tell.

 

The Man in Cabin Number Five (The Guest Book Trilogy 1)

 

Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Linda Holmes's Evvie Drake Starts Over.

 

When Annie Parker discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t let it destroy her. She packs her bags and heads to Lake Arrowhead, California, the mountainside town where her family used to summer. Immersing herself in the restoration of seven 1920s-era cabins, Annie begins to put the pieces of her life back together. But starting over is never easy.Alyce Murphy needs closure. When she discovers her father did not die from a heart attack, as she’s been led to believe for the last 30 years, but in a murder/suicide, she is determined to uncover the truth of his death. But when she visits the cabin where her father ended his life, Alyce has to accept she may never know the true story.Annie is looking toward her future while Alyce needs to put the past to rest. In parallel stories, both women are drawn to the rustic mountainside cabins as they search for the missing pieces—but they soon discover that the cabins have their own stories to tell.

 



 







 

The Girls in Cabin Number Three (The Guest Book Trilogy 2)

 

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.

 

The Starlet in Cabin Number Seven (The Guest Book Trilogy 3)


Return to picturesque 1980s Lake Arrowhead, California where another cozy cabin sheltered amongst the sweeping pine-lined vistas holds a long-buried secret, waiting to be divulged.

 

In this third installment of The Guest Book Trilogy, a young Annie Parker is struggling to overcome her grief over the recent loss of her sister, when a childhood friend unexpectedly turns up seeking refuge from an ill-fated marriage. It would have been easy for Annie to sink deeper into sadness, but when she learns her newest design client, Hudson Fisher, is the son of the late film actress Celeste Williams, her curiosity is peaked. As it turns out, the Roaring 20s starlet was no stranger to the Lake Arrowhead cabins—and this revelation sparks the unraveling of a scandalous story from Hollywood’s bygone era. Did an illicit romance between this leading lady and her dashing costar take place in Cabin No. 7? What really went on behind-the-scenes during the filming of that silent picture? Will discovering a piece of the past bring closure to Annie’s present?

 

A heartwarming tale of friendships, forgiveness, and a touch of old Hollywood glamour, The Starlet in Cabin Number Seven will have readers captivated from beginning to end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maidservant in Cabin Number One: The Beginning (The Guest Book Trilogy 4)

 

After her father’s death in 1923, when Ruth Ann Landry is just ten, she joins her mother as a maidservant for a wealthy Seattle family. The hours are long, the rules are strict, but she and her mother desperately need her wages to survive.

 

By the time she’s seventeen, they’ve moved into the house, and she’s become a mistress to her employer. While accompanying the family on vacation, she sees an opportunity to start a new life, and leaves. Ruth eventually finds solace in the mountain town of Lake Arrowhead, California, where she stays in one of the cabins owned by a man who becomes part of her future.

 

The Maidservant in Cabin Number One is the beginning of the story of The Guest Book Trilogy, and of Annie Parker who eventually comes to own the cabins where Ruth Landry stayed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Noah, The Conclusion (Book 5)

 

Now in her mid-eighties, Annie Parker reflects on her remarkable journey, which began with a fateful decision to relocate to the picturesque Lake Arrowhead after uncovering her husband David’s infidelity. In her quest for renewal, she breathes life into a collection of restored 1920s era cabins, each holding its own unique story, weaving together the threads of her past and present.

 

“Dear Noah” chronicles the passionate love affair between Annie and Noah Chambers, a relationship filled with joy and laughter, but shadowed by an ominous prophecy from an Indian fortune teller that looms over their lives. As the past unfolds and the prophecy comes to fruition, Annie finds herself alone and heartbroken.

 

Seeking solace and a fresh start, Annie moves to Prescott to be closer to her mother. It is there that she encounters Phillip, the charming owner of a quaint antique store. As they navigate the complexities of love and healing, Annie learns that life can surprise you even in its twilight years. Through the stories held within the cabins and the love she finds anew, Annie discovers resilience, hope, and the power of second chances.

 

With themes of love, loss, and the enduring nature of the human spirit, “Dear Noah” is a poignant exploration of how the stories we tell and the connections we cherish shape our lives, no matter where we may be on our journey.

 

This is scheduled for release in November!

 

If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?

 

If I could dress up as anything I'd like to, I'd figure out how to make a costume of one of my books! 

 

Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:

 

Trick: Do you have to read the Guest Book Series in order? 

 

Treat: You can read any of my books as standalones. They don't have to be read in any order, and if you'd like to read about the beginning, start with book 4, The Maidservant. It's about the woman who owned the cabins before Annie restored them almost 50 years later.

 

Giveaway –

 

One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs October 1 – 31, 2024

 

Drawing will be held on November 1, 2024. 

 

Author Biography

 

Chrysteen Braun is a California native, born and raised in Long Beach.

 

The mountains, where she and her husband had a second home, were the inspiration for her first three books, The Guest Book Trilogy. These fictional restored cabins from the late 1920s all had their own stories to tell.

 

Her writing crosses genres of 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.

 

She lives in Coto de Caza, with her husband Larry and two Siamese cats.

 

 

Social Media Links

 

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