A dead man washes up on the shore of Hollow, an island in the Pacific Northwest full of natural beauty and magical thinking, where wolf-conservationist and ex-musical wunderkind Jack Karlsson has exiled himself. To make matters worse, Jack has just agreed to let his estranged niece Esther stay on the island with him for the summer. Tomas, an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD, is the first to find the body. The shock of it sends him spiraling and he looks to the Nagual (werewolf-like) legend from his mother's Aztec heritage for guidance to find the killer and save himself. Or is his Nagual looking for him?

As the summer progresses, Jack retreats into a mysterious madness while local investigator Sahara Moses follows troubling clues to solve the mystery of the dead man. Esther bonds with Jack's young assistant Luis, each grappling with the sins of their fathers. Increasingly unhinged, Tomas's truth-seeking brings them all to the brink until the real story has to come out. Summer Fruit is a love story about found family, a family saga about betrayal and abandonment, and a murder mystery-exploring why otherwise good people do bad things and the magnitude of their impact.

Cover Art (c) 2025 Valerie Savarie. All rights reserved - used with permission. www.valeriesavarie.com