The Lost Art of Mixing

Lillian runs a restaurant that draws people toward one another. Around her tables gather several regulars, each carrying something unsettled. Her own life has taken a turn she did not expect.

Al is an accountant who finds meaning in numbers. His wife, Louise, has an anger that simmers just below boiling. Chloe is a young chef still learning to cook for a living, and after heartbreak she has not learned to trust anyone.

Finnegan is quiet and steady, and despite his great height he can slip into the background of any room. Isabelle is losing her memories little by little, and the others notice it.

The novel is a sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients, returning to Lillian and her restaurant. It is an ensemble story, moving among these characters as their lives overlap. Some connections form easily. Others come together, then separate again.

The question running through it is whether people who start as customers and acquaintances can become a family they choose for themselves. A readers guide is included.