One Hundred Names: A Novel

Kitty Logan’s life is imploding. A journalist, Kitty has garnered widespread vitriol after reporting what turns out to be an untrue story – and now her beloved mentor, Constance, is dying. Just before her death, she points Kitty to a mysterious file that contains only a list of one hundred names. There is no explanation. Certain that figuring out Constance’s intention will illuminate a path forward for Kitty herself, Kitty embarks on a quest to find the people on the list and determine exactly why Constance had planned to write about them. The search feels urgent to Kitty as she faces pariah status in her community and industry.

Kitty lucks out early on: in Constance’s phonebook, the names are highlighted, enabling Kitty to begin reaching out. The journey that follows will please readers seeking heartwarming encounters and fortuitous connections; the unlikely group Kitty collects around her includes a feisty elderly woman, a butterfly farmer, and an eccentric duo attempting a Guinness world record in a pedalo dash. If it all feels a little too pat, it’s redeemed by the moving idea that within each one of us is a story worth telling, a story that must be told.