The Man in Cabin Number Five
"Masterfully written, intriguing, mystifying, and spooky...an entertaining work that will keep the reader hooked until the end." —Readers' Favorite
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.
More Reviews:
"Chrysteen Braun creates a masterpiece with smooth storytelling that juxtaposes the serenity of the mountains with the eruptive chaos of dangerous secrets and ends with a bang. What a terrific story! What a talented writer!" —San Francisco Book Review
"A touching novel charting two women’s parallel lives, tied together by mysteries, transformation, and a cabin." —BookLife
"For those looking for a complex, engaging novel you won't be able to put down, this book is for you." —Book Excellence Awards
"...Engrossing, poignant.... An engaging drama with a strong cast and a final surprise." —Kirkus
"In an intriguing set of stories, each cabin on the mountain serves as the setting for a compelling tale of loss, betrayal—and love. Chrysteen Braun’s clever premise gives us a satisfying glimpse into the lives of others—both past and present." —Anne Cleeland, author of the Doyle & Acton Mystery Series
"Annie and Alyce are two women without much in common, but whose lives intersect in a place that has surprises for both of them. In telling their stories, Chrysteen Braun blends memoir and mystery in an entertaining page-turner." —Susan Denley, former Associate Features Editor, Los Angeles Times
Author Bio:
When it comes to California, mountain retreats, and home renovation, Chrysteen Braun doesn’t just write about it, she’s lived it. The California-native grew up in Long Beach where she recalls writing her first novel at the young age of 12. Moving to Hollywood, she worked at Capital Records where, at just 18, was tasked with ordering all the Beatles’s Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album covers. Shortly thereafter, she joined her family’s home remodeling and design business, which she subsequently owned and operated with her husband, Larry. Fast forward almost fifty years and today that business has passed on to her daughter to continue the family tradition. Meanwhile, Chrysteen has returned to her roots of writing, finding adventure in her characters’ tangle of relationships, mystery and intrigue. The mountains, where she and her husband have a second home, are the inspiration for much of her writing, including The Guestbook Trilogy book series.
Today, Chrysteen lives in Coto de Caza, with her husband and two Siamese cats and divides her time between writing articles on home decor and design, writing fiction and operating a decor boutique in Lake Arrowhead, California, aptly named, At the Cabin.