Signed First Edition Book Group "Whidbey"

Wellesley Books is pleased to announce our latest book group: The Signed First Edition Book Group.

Our inaugural meeting will take place on April 13th to discuss Whidbey by T Kira Madden. (See below for more about this exciting new book.)

How It Works

• Sign up for this month’s discussion by buying a ticket through this page and you'll receive a signed first edition. You can also buy in-store or by phone (781-431-1160).
• We will meet at the store on the given date to discuss the current selection.
• After the meeting, we'll announce our selection for the next month.
• Feel free to join in as often as you are able.
• Please note that we cannot issue refunds unless you wish to return the book. In this case, the process follows our normal book return policy, which can be found on our website.

Lastly, please be aware of our new parking system for the lot behind the store. Parking is free, but you must check in with Vend Park. We recommend doing this before you leave for the event.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Most Anticipated Book by People • Vogue • Esquire • Harper’s Bazaar • USA Today • Seattle Times • Bookpage •Chicago Review of Books • Crimereads • Goodreads • The Millions • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • Book Riot • Literary Hub . . . and many more!

“Epic in its scope, intimate in its evocation, Whidbey reads like a thriller, compels like a mystery and regarding the human condition, converses with the classics. This is the book everyone will be talking about.” — Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author of The Orphan Master’s Son and Fortune Smiles

A portrait of three women connected through one man in the aftermath of his M**der—a stunning literary achievement and the explosive and highly anticipated debut novel from beloved award-winning memoirist T Kira Madden.

Birdie Chang didn’t know anything about Whidbey Island when she chose it, only that it was about as far away as she could get from her own life. She’s a woman on the run, desperate for an escape from the headlines back home and the look of concern in her girlfriend’s eyes—and from Calvin Boyer, the man who abused her as a child and who’s now resurfaced. On her way, she has an unnerving encounter with a stranger on the ferry who offers her a proposition, a sinister solution and plan for revenge.

But Birdie isn’t the only girl Calvin harmed back then. There’s also Linzie King, a former reality TV star who recently wrote all about it in her bestselling memoir. Though the two women have never met, their stories intertwine. Once Birdie arrives on Whidbey, she finally cracks the book’s spine, only to find too much she recognizes in its pages. Soon after, on the other side of the country, Calvin’s loving mother, Mary-Beth, receives a shocking phone call from the police: her only son has been murdered.

Calvin’s death sets into motion a series of events that sends each woman on a desperate search for answers. A complex whodunit told from alternating points of view, Whidbey is searingly perceptive and astonishingly original. Exploring the long reach of violence and our flawed systems of incarceration and rehabilitation, this is a tense and provocative debut that’s sure to incite crucial questions about the pursuit of justice and who has real power over a story: the one who lives it, or the one who tells it?

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Wellesley Books