The Bay at Midnight [Paperback]

Diane Chamberlain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Her family's cottage on the New Jersey shore was a place of freedom and innocence for Julie Bauer—until her seventeen-year-old sister, Isabel, was murdered.

It's been more than forty years since that August night, but Julie's memories of her sister's death still shape her world. Now someone from her past is raising questions about what really happened that night. About Julie's own complicity. About a devastating secret her mother kept from them all. About the person who went to prison for Izzy's murder—and the person who didn't.

Faced with questions and armed with few answers, Julie must gather the courage to revisit her past and untangle the complex emotions that led to one unspeakable act of violence on the bay at midnight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Family secrets sizzle at the core of an unsolved mystery in this smooth, deceptively simple tale of romantic suspense from Chamberlain (In Her Mother's Shadow). During the summer of '62, two families vacationing at the Jersey shore, the Bauers and the Chapmans, are devastated by the murder of 17-year-old Isabel Bauer. Most affected is the victim's precocious 12-year-old sister, Julie, who feels accidentally responsible. Forty-one years later, Julie is a bestselling mystery novelist and a divorced, menopausal single mom, dealing with the demands of Shannon, her pregnant, unwed 17-year-old daughter, and Maria, her elderly mother. Then the niece of Ned Chapman, on whom Julie had a crush that fatal summer, arrives at her door bearing a letter from her uncle, recently dead of cirrhosis of the liver, claiming that the person convicted for Isabel's murder, an African-American named George Lewis, was wrongly imprisoned. Taking the letter to the police means reopening the case and shaking up the lives of both families. Through multiple points of view, Chamberlain skillfully explores the painful memories of the tragedy. The story of what really happened unfolds organically and credibly, building to a touching denouement that plumbs the nature of crimes of the heart.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Acclaimed but reclusive writer Julie Bauer is surprised when the daughter of a childhood friend turns up on her doorstep, bringing with her evidence that the man convicted of killing Julie's sister 41 years ago might have been innocent. The evidence is a letter found in Ned Chapman's house after his death, in which Ned claims to have information about Isabel's death. Ned was Isabel's boyfriend at the time of her death, and Julie meets with Ethan, Ned's brother and her former friend, with the hope of convincing him to take the letter to the police. Julie never believed the man convicted of drowning Isabel was guilty, but she isn't prepared for the family secrets, both past and present, that reopening the investigation will dredge up. Julie's younger sister, Lucy, who was a small child at the time of Isabel's death, is concerned about how the reopening of the case will affect their mother, Maria, but she's also worried that the secret Shannon, Julie's daughter, is harboring will shock Julie. Julie herself is surprised to find her feelings for Ethan growing as they spend more time together. Chamberlain's latest is both an enticing mystery and a rewarding love story; expect demand from word of mouth. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Mira (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778323412
• ISBN-13: 978-0778323419
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 4.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey where, at the age of twelve, I wrote several dreadful novellas, read and admired only by my family. When college rolled around, I forgot about writing and received my bachelor's and master's degrees in Social Work from San Diego State University. I was a hospital social worker in San Diego, and later in Washington DC. I also had a private psychotherapy practice working mainly with teenagers. All the while, I was writing on the side. I viewed my writing as a hobby, but it quickly became a passion. I finally decided to take a class in 'writing the novel.' I was very shy about showing my work to the instructor, but when I finally did, he loved it! He encouraged me to aim for publication and I decided to go for it. A few years later, my first novel, PRIVATE RELATIONS, was published.

Since then, I've written about a book a year-eternity-one at last count. I now live in North Carolina, the beautiful state where many of my books are set and where I'm ten minutes from my grandbabies. I share my life with my soulmate, John, who's a photographer as well as my muse, and with my two shelties, Keeper and Jet.

Are you wondering what my books are about? One of my readers in Japan had this to say about my work: "You make me believe life is beautiful even if it is full of pain and rage." Her words touch me deeply. They hang on the wall above my computer and help me remember exactly what it is I'm trying to achieve in my stories. I hope you'll enjoy them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Character Development, February 17, 2005

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bay at Midnight (Hardcover)

On August 5, 1962 Julie's life changed completely. Until then she was an inquisitive 12 year old girl who dreamed of becoming the next Nancy Drew. She even has a bread box where she keeps things she finds which may be clues to a mystery further down the road. The bread box is a secret and is buried in a corner of the yard. The only one she shares the secret with is her big sister Izzy (Isabelle).

The family is spending the summer, as usual, at their summer home. Izzy is 17 and interested in boys - especially Ned Chapman, the boy next door. Lucy is 9 and is afraid of everything so mainly stays close to home.

But Julie spends the summer playing Nancy Drew, taking the boat out on the canal and fishing with her friends on the other side of the canal. Friends she's not supposed to see because they're black. Of course, being Julie she goes anyway.

Izzy sneaks out at night to sit on the platform and meet Ned. Julie sneaks out too just to see what's going on.

All pretty typical - until Julie mixes in Izzy and Ned's relationship and their lives are changed forever. Someone is murdered and someone is convicted of the murder.

But years later, a letter is found which changes everything!

I really enjoyed this book - the story just gradually grew until it became absolutely riveting. And full of surprises. In fact, I stayed up until almost 2AM to finish the book because I couldn't put it down.

In other words, a VERY good read.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read . . ., February 11, 2005

By 

Patricia Kay "author and avid reader" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Bay at Midnight (Hardcover)

I've always loved Diane Chamberlain's work and have bought and read all her books. Any reader has favorites, of course, and I'm no exception. KEEPER OF THE LIGHT is my all-time favorite, but THE BAY AT MIDNIGHT runs a close second. It's always amazing to me how Chamberlain can give you just enough information to keep you hooked yet hold back enough to keep you in suspense about the ultimate outcome of the story. She's a marvelous writer, and her characters live in your mind for a long time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diane Doesn't Disappoint!, April 24, 2005

By 

mzglorybe (Southern CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bay at Midnight (Hardcover)

She is SUCH a good writer! I can't wait to see what she is coming up with next. Every book is different - and every one just has these unexpected twists and turns that keep you reading longer than you intended to.... like when you need sleep.

The characters in this one are just wonderful. My favorite was Maria - the grandmother, 'though most of the story is told by one of her daughters, Julie, a writer of mystery novels, who was 12 when her sister dies and feels responsible for her part in her sisters death.

The story goes from present day back and forth to 1962 where Maria's loses her daughter Izzy in a tragedy at the age of 17 at Bay Head Shores, in New Jersey - the family summer site. The story revolves around two families that lived next door to each other and spent their summers together at the Bay.

Now, over 40 years have passed and an apparent note left by a dying man (who was the victims boyfriend when she died) indicates that a man prosecuted for murdering Izzy may have been innocent and so the case is reopened, and so are all the memories and scars of that fateful night that the tragedy occured for everyone at the Bay, and how it affected all their lives.

There are a few other stories going on here, be prepared to stay up late. Diane flawlessly crafts her characters so you won't easily forget them once you've finished this. I read this in two days, I wanted to savor it a bit longer, but just could not put it down, like many others of her novels. Loved it and highly recommend it.