Rose House by Tina Ann Forkner

A vivid story of a private grief, a secret painting, and one woman’s search for hope.

Still mourning the loss of her family in a tragic accident, Lillian Diamon finds herself drawn back to the Rose House, a quiet cottage where four years earlier she had poured out her anguish among its fragrant blossoms.

She returns to the rolling hills and lush vineyards of the Sonoma Valley in search of something she can’t quite name. But then Lillian stumbles onto an unexpected discovery: displayed in the La Rosaleda Gallery is a painting that captures every detail of her most private moment of misery, from the sorrow etched across her face to the sandals on her feet.

As the mystery surrounding the portrait becomes entangled with the accident that claimed the lives of her husband and children, Lillian is forced to rethink her assumptions about what really happened that day.

A captivating novel rich with detail, Rose House explores how the brushstrokes of pain can illuminate the true beauty of life. (taken from back cover of book)

Lillian's loss and pain is so real in this book - I was in tears at times. She does her best to move forward in life after such a heavy blow. Although this is the follow-up novel to Ruby Among Us, you can definitely read this as a stand-alone novel, since the characters from the first novel have only supportive roles here. I loved reading about the town La Rosaleda and its inhabitants. The characters were quirky and the mystery of it all had me in its grasp from the first chapter. This is classified as Christian Fiction - but Christian's and non-Christian's alike should be okay to read this, as it was not preachy. If you're in the mood for a good mystery, with plenty of romantic tension and some loveable characters, you might want to check this one out.