Synopsis:

ONE ICONIC FAMILY. ONE SUMMER OF SECRETS. THE DAZZLING SPIRIT OF 1970S CALIFORNIA.

For Jackie Pierce, everything changed the summer of 1979, when she spent three months of infinite freedom at her bohemian uncle’s sprawling estate on the California coast. As musicians, artists, and free spirits gathered at The Sandcastle for the season in pursuit of inspiration and communal living, Jackie and her cousin Willa fell into a fast friendship, testing their limits along the rocky beach and in the wild woods… until the summer abruptly ended in tragedy, and Willa silently slipped away into the night.

Twenty years later, Jackie unexpectedly inherits The Sandcastle and returns to the iconic estate for a short visit to ready it for sale. But she reluctantly extends her stay when she learns that, before her death, her estranged aunt had promised an up-and-coming producer he could record a tribute album to her late uncle at the property’s studio. As her musical guests bring the place to life again with their sun-drenched beach days and late-night bonfires, Jackie begins to notice startling parallels to that summer long ago. And when a piece of the past resurfaces and sparks new questions about Willa’s disappearance, Jackie must discover if the dark secret she’s kept ever since is even the truth at all.

“A delicious daydream of a book.” —Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of 28 Summers

“With lyrical writing and a page-turning plot, this sun-dappled book has it all: heart, smarts, and an irresistible musical beat. A tone-perfect evocation of the free-spirited late 1970s and a riveting coming-of-age story.” —Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party

“In LADY SUNSHINE, Amy Mason Doan has crafted an engrossing tale of secrets, memory, music, and the people and places you can never outrun. This novel will transport you to the ‘70s and summertime magic and a long overdue reckoning. A fantastic summer read.”
—Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

One of my favorite books of 2020 was Amy Mason Doan’s Summer Hours, so when I was approved for an early copy of Lady Sunshine on Netgalley, I was thrilled. This was the third book I’ve read by Doan, and while it didn’t quite reach the heights Summer Hours brought me to, I was happy to settle into this story about friendship, secrets, and the price of fame amid the backdrop of the musical 1970s.

“How ironic, if the person responsible for destroying their Eden had the only true taste of it.“

Amy Mason Doan, Lady Sunshine

It’s very much a coming-of-age story, and while some of the events were predictable (and maybe even unbelievable), I still found myself often surprised. And completely nostalgic for my childhood, when life seemed to have a slower pace—set to the harmonic sounds of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young.

Each of the books I’ve read by Doan has a life-changing friendship at its core—with some romance and a mystery on the side. And the fast friendship one summer in 1979 between Jackie and her cousin Willa alters their lives forever. Everyone deserves at least one friendship in their lives like Jackie and Willa’s, and I enjoyed their adventures and the sweet relationship they shared.