Homebody: A Novel

Don Lark carries a cheerful name despite a tragic past. After his alcoholic ex-wife killed their daughter in a car accident, he withdrew from the world. He finds solace in purchasing dilapidated houses, restoring them, and reselling them for profit, moving from town to town. In Greensboro, North Carolina, Lark discovers his most ambitious project yet—a large, well-built house that has deteriorated over nearly a century of neglect by absentee landlords and temporary residents. As he begins restoration work, his new neighborhood begins to appeal to him. He develops a romantic connection with the real estate agent who sold him the property. His neighbors, two elderly women, regularly offer him Southern cooking. Even Sylvie, a squatter he previously tried to remove, becomes someone he grows to like. When Lark uncovers an old tunnel beneath the house's cellar, the situation becomes dangerous. Sylvie becomes hostile and threatening. Lark must fight for his survival and that of his friends against a house harboring a past as tragic as his own. Success means achieving the home and community he has long desired. Failure means losing everything.