Thank you to Sanny Chiu and Monica Cordova for my amazing book cover. I love it! Thank you so much for making Saltwater Nook look exactly like it does in my head and for giving Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle a starring role; she is, after all, a very high-maintenance cat!

The world of publishing is made up of many talented people working tirelessly behind the scenes to help people like me get a book out into the world. Huge thank-yous to the team at Putnam: Anthony Ramondo—Executive Creative Director, Sally Kim—Publisher, Ashley McClay—Marketing Director, Alexis Welby—Publicity Director, Meredith Dros—Managing Editor, Maija Baldauf—Associate Managing Editor, Hannah Dragone—Production Manager, Claire Sullivan—Production Editor, and Katy Riegel—Interior Designer; you are all superstars!

Book people are the best people! Thank you to the booky people on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the like; your passion for books and kind, generous spirits have made my social media a safe haven in what has been a strange time for all . . . you are also responsible for my ever-growing TBR pile with your tantalizing book reviews!

Thank you to the Bayou Book Babes for letting me join your book club; it is an absolute joy to talk books with such fabulous women. And thank you to the Café on the Beach for letting me spend hours writing this book in your café before the pandemic and keeping me topped up with fine coffee takeaways all the way through it.

Lindsay and Jo, thank you for being my first readers and giving me the confidence to go ahead and press Send. I love you both so much. Aileen, you have been championing me for nearly thirty years, what would I ever do without your love and friendship? Thanks, Adele, for our work-morning Zoom calls where we have tried to re-create a working-in-a-coffee-shop vibe in lieu of the real things being open.

To my Mum and Dad, thank you for being hilarious, loving, and supportive in equal measure; you mean the world to me. To my brother, Simon, and my sons, Jack and Will, thank you for being the kind of men who inspire the heroes for my stories.

And finally, to my husband, Dom, who takes me out to look at leaves and fields when I feel overwhelmed and calms me down when I’m being an anxious Agatha; thanks babe, love you.

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