The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan – Reece’s Book Club Selction (Hardcover)

A Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times Bestseller

On Maine’s windswept coast stands a lavender Victorian house—abandoned, haunted by secrets, and irresistible. J. Courtney Sullivan, the acclaimed author of Friends and Strangers, returns with a spellbinding novel that layers family secrets, ghostly presences, and the deep roots women put down across generations.

Jane Flanagan first discovers the house as a teenager, a refuge from her turbulent home life. Decades later, she’s a Harvard archivist who returns to Maine after a devastating mistake threatens everything she’s built. The Victorian she once knew has been transformed into a glossy renovation by its new owner, Genevieve—a summer person convinced the house is haunted. She hires Jane to uncover the truth buried in its walls.

What Jane discovers reaches back further than she imagined: lovers lost to the sea, stolen artifacts, the long shadow of colonialism, and the intertwined lives of women who refused to be forgotten. Sullivan weaves together past and present with remarkable skill, creating a narrative that’s both intimate and sweeping.

The Cliffs is perfect for readers who love atmospheric fiction, complex family sagas, and stories where place becomes character. It’s a novel about inheritance—not just of houses and land, but of secrets, trauma, and resilience. Ann Napolitano calls it “a stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan’s best book yet.”

If you’re drawn to the coast, to old houses with stories to tell, and to the ways women’s lives echo across time, this book belongs on your shelf.

Additional information