Dream House by Valerie Laken

This is a debut novel and I can't wait for more to be published! It was very well-written. It begins with a short chapter about a man and his young helper who are hired to clean up a crime scene. It isn't too graphic (yeah!) and we don't get a lot of information about the crime. Then it skips twenty years forward. Two stories are then told and eventually they overlap. The basic story is about Kate and Stuart who buy a very run-down house in Michigan. When school lets out for the summer Kate throws herself into the remodel even though Stuart is less than enthusiastic and their marriage reaches a critical state. The other story is about Walker. He has recently been released from prison. He ends up helping Kate with the remodel. I loved the way she wrote this book, intertwining the different characters and stories. Highly recommended!