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Amy Ashton once dreamed of becoming an artist and creating beautiful objects. But now she simply collects them. Aquamarine bottles, bright yellow crockery, deep Tuscan red pots (and the odd slow cooker) take up every available inch of space in her house. Having suffered a terrible tragedy—one she staunchly refuses to let herself think about, thank you very much—she's decided that it's easier to love things instead of people.
But when a new family moves in next door with two young boys, one of whom has a collection of his own, Amy's carefully managed life starts to unravel, prompting her to question why she began to close herself off in the first place. As Amy embarks on a journey back into her past, she has to contend with nosy neighbors, a meddlesome government worker, the inept police, and a little boy whose love of bulldozers might just let Amy open up her heart—and her home—again.
Quirky and charming, big-hearted and moving, The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton proves that it's never too late to let go of the things that don't matter...and welcome the people who do.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 8, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797124124
- File size: 327599 KB
- Duration: 11:22:29
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 5, 2021
Ray’s amiable debut centers on the eponymous Amy Ashton, a woman approaching middle age whose life was knocked off-course by the disappearance of both her best friend and her boyfriend. In chapters alternating between present and past, the reader learns Amy was once a happy young woman, dating Tim, a struggling musician, and working an admin job to make rent while pursuing her true passion, painting. When the novel opens, Amy is still working the admin job, 11 years after Tim and her best friend, Chantel, disappeared, and lives alone in a house that’s become overcrowded with her possessions. It all changes when a family with two young boys moves in next door. Amy is initially dismayed by the idea of children coming inside and trampling her “treasures,” but a mishap involving a cat and a ceramic pot leads to a chance discovery of the first real clue as to what may have happened to Tim and Chantel. The first clue, a ring, leads to a second, a letter, and soon Amy is cast in the role of amateur investigator, while her relationship with her charming neighbors rejuvenates her. Though the ending is a tad Hollywood, Ray has a light touch with her prose. Readers who can appreciate a comforting story about nice people will find much to like. Agent: Euan Thorneycroft, AM Heath Literary.
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