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Aug 14 min read

The Man in Cabin Number Five, Guest Book Trilogy Book One by Chrysteen Braun is a Binge-Worthy Book Festival pick #womensfiction #bingeworthy #giveaway



Title: The Man in Cabin Number Five, Guest Book Trilogy Book One

 

Author: Chrysteen Braun

 

Genre: Women’s Fiction

 

Book Blurb:

 

When Annie Parker discovers her husband’s infidelity, she doesn’t let it destroy her. She packs her bags and heads to Lake Arrowhead, Ca, 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 towards 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 stores to tell.

 

Excerpt:

 

I now knew Daddy took his own life, but there was nothin’ else in the photo box that could answer the lingerin’ question...why had he killed Smitty and his family?

 

I felt the blood drain from my face and had to put my head between my legs so I wouldn’t faint. Mama just watched me, confused by my reaction.

 

“I’ve been tryin’ to tell you,” she said.

 

“Mama,” I started, once I could gather my wits. “I thought you were just imagining’ all this.”

 

“I’m sorry you had to find out. I wondered all these years if I should have ever told you, but I’ve carried this mess in my head all this time.”

 

The only thing I could think of saying was, “Why are you telling me this now?”

 

As I watched her put the papers back into her box, all I could think of was, ‘Why didn’t you say something? I watched as you tried to put your life back together so many times, and I couldn’t do anythin’ about it.’

 

 Daddy had caused all her unhappiness, not because he died of a natural death, but because he’d killed someone.

 

Without thinking about how she might be feeling at that moment, I knew I had to get out of there. I left the bag of groceries I’d brought on the counter of her small kitchen; her caregiver could put everything away when she checked in on her. In fact, I saw one of them go into another room as I hurried to the elevator, so I knew they’d be in to see her soon.

 

It took forever for the elevator to come, and then it seemed to take even more time than usual to get to the ground floor. I was grateful no one else wanted to go down. I had a minute to myself. I rushed by the sign out desk and it was only when I was outside that I stopped to take a breath.

 

I could feel my heartbeat rushing through my ears and while I knew it was only stress, it scared me.

 

What Daddy had done was unforgivable. He ruined so many lives. But what Mama knew had to have been unbearable for her. My mind raced back to feeling helpless when she cried, how she cuddled with Daisy, and how she was repeatedly let down by deadbeat men. She deserved so much more, and I’d had no idea how to help her.

I couldn’t go back in time, but I could go back upstairs to see her and apologize for running away like I did.

 

“I thought you just left,” one of the staff said as I walked back in.

 

“I did. But I forgot somethin’.”

 

When I got to my mother’s room, her door was closed, and I gently knocked.

 

“Oh, hey, Alyce,” her caregiver whispered. “She’s down for her afternoon nap.”

 

“Was she okay?”

 

“Oh, sure. She seemed surprised you’d left, but said something about probably forgetting you told her you were leaving. She’s fine, though, so don’t you worry.”

 

Like a cowardly lump, I stood there for a few minutes, wondering if I should go in and wake her, but then thought I might confuse her even more if I did. I eventually turned to leave.

 

“Tell her I’ll call her later tonight then.”

 

“Will do, dear.”

 

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What’s the first binge-worthy book you read and why was it a must-read?

 

The first binge-worthy book I've read is The Widow, by Kaira Rouda. Her writing is incredible, and I didn't want to put the book down. I thought about it during the day, and that's the sign of a really good book, at least for me. I've just finished that book and have started The Next Wife. 

 

What makes your featured book a binge-worthy read?

 

Hopefully, my books are binge-worthy also. When Annie Parker turns 80, she decides to write about a time in her life when she was starting over. She moves up to Lake Arrowhead, California, and buys and restores a series of 1920s era cabins. She soon discovers each cabin has a story to tell. I write Women's Fiction with a little mystery, romance and intrigue.

 

 Hopefully you'll find them Binge-Worthy!

 

Giveaway –

 

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

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs August 1 – 31, 2024

 

Drawing will be held on September 2, 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 House 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.

 

 

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