Wellfleet Public Library

Hush Little Fire

Judith Newcomb Stiles in conversation with Kai Potter

When Mary Newcombe dutifully returns to Cape Cod with her twelve-year-old son to celebrate Christmas with her adoptive mother, Birdie, the only part of the trip she looks forward to is digging beach clay for pottery to stoke her beloved kiln. But while she's home, a suspicious fire destroys the town health clinic, and Mary becomes a leading suspect. Mary can't remember the night of the fire and, as always, her mother isn't talking. Birdie has kept secrets from Mary her entire life, beginning with the truth about Mary's birth mother. When Mary discovers her adoptive father socked away a small fortune performing pre-Roe v. Wade illegal abortions in the clinic that burned to the ground, she's done with being kept in the dark. As the days tick by and pressures mount to find the arsonist, Mary digs deeper into Wellfleet's history, and more secrets start to unfurl.

A cross-generational mystery told through the perspectives of four women living on the underbelly of Cape Cod, Judith Newcomb Stiles's Hush Little Fire is the perfect read for fans of Bonnie Garmus, Dennis Lehane, and Adrienne Brodeur.

From her Cape Cod studio, Judith Newcomb Stiles creates original ceramics inspired by the textures and vibrant colors of the seashore. While she waits for her pots to dry, she writes essays, fiction, and news articles for the Italian publication Ytali Global, covering all things American. Her short stories and literary essays can be found in Europa Quotidiano, Hemingway Shorts, The Ex-Puritan, and The New York Times. Stiles lives in the Wellfleet house, commuting thirty steps to her pottery studio and three blocks to The Newcomb Hollow Shop & Gallery. Hush Little Fire is her debut novel.

Kai Potter is an artist, writer, surfer, and landscape designer born and raised on the outer edge of Cape Cod. He grew up amongst the scrub pines, sand dunes, wild oceans, and colorful characters that shape the landscape there. His book of essays Noticing: The Quiet Season on Outer Cape Cod was published last year by the Provincetown Independent.