HOLLYWOOD, California – Sales have gone through the roof for a Maine mystery story after it got two big thumbs up from Reese Witherspoon and rave reviews from members of her book club.The Lighthouse Keeper’s Granddaughter, by Catherine Bellweather, tells the story of a woman who inherits a coastal Maine house and lighthouse from her grandmother and then discovers a series of secrets about the woman she thought was a demure housewife and devoted mother but was also so much more.

“It was like I was there in the lighthouse with the grandmother, as I peeled away the layers of her fascinating life story,” said Witherspoon, the well-known actress and founder of Reese’s Book Club. “It reminded me so much of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, another of my book club selections, in the way it revealed a woman’s hidden past, bit by tantalizing bit. But whereas that book was soaked in Hollywood glamor, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Granddaughter is steeped in the sea, in the sea-soaked atmosphere of the lighthouse.”

It’s not giving away too much to reveal that the book’s namesake, Eleanor, discovers, through reading a cache of stashed-away letters, that her grandmother (and her own namesake), Eleanora, was a lighthouse keeper in her own right, carrying on when her husband died, but was also a member of a secret network of people who released circus elephants from their big top captivity and delivered them to the safety of the wilds of coastal New England. 

Like many of the books that Witherspoon recommends, this one features a strong female protagonist. In this case, young Eleanor vows to track down descendants of the other elephant rescuers, and danger and intrigue ensue. 

In urging her book club members to devour The Lighthouse Keeper’s Granddaughter, Reese Witherspoon had this to say: “I’ve always been drawn to stories about the bond between humans and elephants ever since Water for Elephants, but Catherine Bellweather takes that connection in such an unexpected direction – instead of circus captivity, we get this beautiful tale of liberation and sanctuary.”
The novel has struck a chord with readers nationwide, earning praise for its unique blend of family mystery and historical adventure. Among the quotes on the back cover is this, from an enchanted reader: “The author somehow makes you believe that circus elephants could actually thrive in the Maine wilderness: it’s magical realism at its finest.”