Mona Lisa Smiles — Kate Lloyd

Lloyd's masterful scene setting and keen eye for Scottish history transform this novel into a stunning tapestry of love, loyalty, and family. Booklife at Publisher's WeeklyWith Papa dead and Mama in assisted living, Mona Lisa Buttaro plans to sell Booty's, the family restaurant, as well as the family home, but her quirky brother, Joey, is a roadblock. Mona Lisa persuades him to work at the restaurant, but his phobias about germs dominate his thoughts. Yet, if she sells the place, where else could Joey work? Mona Lisa hires former classmate Cliff McFarlane to do repairs on the family home. Newly sober and single, Cliff was in the popular crowd that excluded her in the past, but she is still attracted to him-not that she'd let him know. Mona Lisa wonders if she should give up all men-unless she can find one like Papa, her idol. Then she uncovers an outrageous discovery: while alive, Papa made monthly payments to a half-sister Mona Lisa never knew existed. Mona Lisa realizes her father was a liar-not unlike herself. She harbors her own shameful secret.