The Briny Cafe

Book excerpt: Brimming with warmth and wit, Susan Duncan's first novel is a delicious tale of friendship and love, and the search for a place to call home... Ettie Brookbank is the heart and soul of Cook's Basin, a sleepy cluster of dazzling blue bays where the only way home is by boat. However, as idyllic as her surroundings are, she is all too aware of the years slipping by without note. While her good friend Sam, an offshorer born and bred, steadfastly guards the tranquillity of Cook's Basin life, Ettie yearns for excitement, a challenge, the chance to live dangerously while her blood still runs hot. But she gave up believing in dreams long ago. Then fate offers her a lifeline - the chance to breathe new life into a beloved local landmark. Ettie's salvation, it seems, is a lopsided little cafe on the water's edge ...