JUNE, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s fourth book, takes readers to the small, rural town of St. Jude, Ohio, where the past and present collide in a lush, sprawling mansion, and powerful secrets rock the life of an unassuming young photographer.

At the start of JUNE --- aptly set during the month of June 2015 --- we meet Cassie Danvers, a 25-year-old photographer who has just inherited her grandmother’s crumbling but gorgeous mansion called Two Oaks. Built by her grandmother’s great uncle, Lemon Gray Neely, the mansion has stood at the center of St. Jude for ages. Although it is quickly apparent that Cassie’s grandmother (also named June) more or less raised her, there was some sort of falling out between the two shortly before June’s death. Now Cassie, orphaned, alone and teetering on the brink of depression, spends her days avoiding the phone and ever-growing stack of mail and dreaming of two young girls living in Two Oaks. In Beverly-Whittemore’s skillful hands, the house itself takes on a ghostly quality in these dreams, encouraging Cassie to piece together the mystery without ever fully becoming anthropomorphized.

The narrative switches here to the Two Oaks of June 1955, where an 18-year-old version of June plays dress up with her 14-year-old friend, Lindie. Lindie is more of a tomboy, but she idolizes June, and besides, their hometown of St. Jude has just been rocked by some very big news. Hollywood has descended upon the rural town to finish filming scenes for a movie called Erie Canal, starring Jack Montgomery, the most dazzling man in film, and Diane DeSoto, a relative newcomer who makes up in beauty and drama what she lacks in actual acting skills. Lindie, desperate to find some excitement, is determined to become a part of Erie Canal. But it is June who will be forever changed by the film, its stars and their effect on St. Jude.

"...a slow-burning, wonderful story of love and responsibility that will strike a chord in any reader’s heart."

When we reunite with Cassie, there is a man on her front porch with some shocking news. Not only has Cassie inherited Two Oaks, but, with the death of iconic actor Jack Montgomery, she is poised to inherit a grand sum --- $37 million, to be exact. There’s one problem: Tate Montgomery, Jack’s celebrity daughter, who is dead set on finding out why her father would leave everything to some nobody from nowhere. Contrary to the typical money-hungry starlet archetype, Tate is no fool, and she soon arrives in Two Oaks herself, where Cassie forces her and her two assistants, Nick and Hank, to comb through the house with her for evidence of a relationship between June and Jack. If they find nothing, Cassie will submit to a DNA test --- but only if Tate agrees to conduct a thorough search.

Back in 1955, Lindie has secured a job as a PA and has seen very little of June, who is preparing for an arranged marriage with Artie, the younger brother of St. Jude’s most ambitious entrepreneur, Clyde. June is not exactly in love with Artie, but she is a respectable, responsible girl and, like any young woman, dreams of her wedding day with joy and excitement. For days things run smoothly, with Lindie quickly and eagerly learning the ins and outs of show business. But then Jack spots June, and with the help of Lindie, history is silently but irreversibly made.

Meanwhile, Cassie has begun to form a sort of family with the dazzling Tate and her obedient assistants. Although she is in no hurry to find proof that her grandmother kept secrets from her and her own husband, she so clearly wants a reason to join Tate --- not because she is starstruck, but because she is lonely. As she continues to dream of her grandmother’s girlhood, however, she begins to realize that family means something very different than constant approval and affection.

You don’t need to be a careful reader to know without a doubt that Cassie is, in fact, Jack’s granddaughter. But the way that June, Jack and even Lindie’s histories are so carefully, gently revealed is a true testament to Beverly-Whittemore’s talent for character development and pacing. Young Lindie, with all her bravery and stubborn determination, shines in every scene, while June provides the backbone that connects every plotline, character and secret. The conclusion to her story is so deliciously satisfying that it will make every hardship worth it. It is Two Oaks, however, that is the true highlight of the novel. Never before have I been so immersed in a single fictional building. Two Oaks is full not only of history but of solid, lively personality and endless potential --- so much so that I was often reminded of my childhood dollhouse while reading JUNE. The novel has that same alluring draw, and the sensation that anything can happen once you begin flipping through its pages.

The drama that unfolds in St. Jude during the fateful summer of 1955 spawns many secrets --- some you will pick up on your own, but others are held by Beverly-Whittemore until the very last chapter. Through it all, though, you will delight in the author’s talent for balancing multiple timelines while introducing believable, dynamic characters whose passions, loyalties and secrets create a slow-burning, wonderful story of love and responsibility that will strike a chord in any reader’s heart.