The Pinelands Alliance is welcoming Caitlin Mullen for an Author Event on November 15th from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Held inside our renovated barn, Caitlin will give us an inside look at the inspiration behind the book, followed by a question-and-answer session and a book signing.
We will be discussing her New York Times Editor’s Pick and USA Today Bestseller, Heather, set in the Pine Barrens. The novel follows a small-town detective who reopens an unsolved case, sending shock waves across generations of women. Caitlin Mullen is also the author of Please See Us, which won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was named a New York Times best crime novel of the year. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and children.
The story starts with Callie in 2023, a new police chief who has returned home to South Jersey from her demanding narcotics job in North Jersey. Right away, she pulls over her alcoholic mother, with whom she has a tumultuous relationship, and the rest of the community’s relationships start to unfold. Callie finds herself at the center of a cold case from 20 years ago that starts to define her every day and who she knows herself to be.
Meanwhile, in 1990, two twin sisters went missing. The rumor is that one of the sisters had an affair with an older man. But soon we’ll be following the sisters so closely and remembering how hard teenage years can be, especially for young girls. Somehow, the cold case ties the 1990 twins to Callie in the present, forming a complex, challenging story that reflects women’s struggles across time.
All the while, the audience can find themselves sprawled out in the Pine Barrens. From kayaking on rivers with “Piney Adventures” to finding solace in the woods and hiking the Batona trail, this book captures the wonders of the Pinelands. One couple’s marriage proposal unfolds aboard a boat on Atsion Lake, and Callie finds herself traveling along long, tree-lined roads to old bait shops at the Shore. Readers will be wrapped up not only in the characters’ narratives but also in the mystery evoked by the Pine Barrens ecosystem.
The book’s title, Heather, is the name of a plant in the Pine Barrens. Heather can be found in the Pine and Oak Uplands. Pine and Oak Upland Forests are the most common and the most characteristic natural community in the Pine Barrens. Heather is a low-growing native shrub. It forms dense mats of gray-green leaves and produces bright yellow flowers from late May to July. Learn more about how this native plant connects to the novel’s characters.
Meet Caitlin Mullen herself, get your copy of Heather signed, and ask her any questions you have about Callie, Sarbina, Annabelle, or the local history. You can purchase copies of Heather from the Pinelands Alliance gift shop today and on the day of the event.
It’s not every day that we get a New York Times Editor’s Pick author to come talk to us about the Pinelands. We are so excited to share the day with an author writing female narratives set in the Pine Barrens and sharing our natural wonder with the world on a national stage like the New York Times and USA Today. Join us as we celebrate the place we love and the storytellers who help the world see its wonder.
