Wake-Up Calls by Mariah Stewart Summary: Family Secrets
TL;DR: What You Need to Know
Katherine “Kit” Porterfield has spent thirty years as a wife, mother, and former children’s librarian in Pennsylvania.
Then a phone call from an attorney in Tolerance, Maine, changes everything.
A stranger informs Kit that she has inherited a lakefront sporting camp from an aunt named Maxine Meadows. The problem: Kit’s late mother always insisted she was an only child.
In Wake-Up Calls, Mariah Stewart follows one woman’s journey into a buried family history, a small town that remembers what her mother refused to discuss, and a discovery that reshapes her understanding of who she is.
- Premise: A recently bereaved woman inherits a Maine camp from an aunt her mother claimed never existed.
- Central mystery: Why were the two sisters estranged for decades, and what happened at the camp that no one will explain?
- Key discovery: Skeletal remains of an infant found inside a blanket chest in Maxine’s bedroom.
- Personal stakes: Kit’s thirty-year marriage collapses while she decides whether to sell or revive the property.
- Themes: Family secrets, grief, second chances, female solidarity, and small-town kinship.
- Tone: Warm and reflective, with a mystery thread running beneath the domestic drama.
Book Details at a Glance
- Genre & Subgenre: Women’s Fiction / Small-Town Contemporary Drama & Romance
- Core Narrative Tropes: Unexpected inheritance, hidden family mystery, fresh starts, small-town kinship, female empowerment
- Tone & Atmosphere: Warm, sentimental, atmospheric, nostalgic, melancholic, empowering
- Primary Conflict: Kit must navigate her mother’s hidden past, investigate the infant remains, face the collapse of her marriage, and decide whether to sell or revive the estate
- Pacing Style: Character-driven, with a steadily unfolding multi-generational mystery balanced with personal growth and small-town warmth
- ISBN-10: 1662512694
- ISBN-13: 978-1662512698
- Pages: 395
- Book Structure: 38 sections — Chapters One through Thirty-Seven plus an Epilogue
Wake-Up Calls Summary (Spoilers Ahead)
Kit Porterfield lives in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, still grieving her mother Barbara two years after her death.
Her younger sister Beth is recovering from cancer, and her daughter Abby has just left her cheating husband Evan, arriving on Kit’s doorstep with her toddler son Benny.
Into this chaos comes a voicemail from attorney Jeremy Banks in Tolerance, Maine. He claims Kit has inherited an estate from her late aunt, Maxine Meadows. Kit assumes it is a scam, since Barbara always said she had no siblings.
A FedEx package of legal documents proves otherwise. Kit flies to Maine to inspect The Camp in the Meadows, a rustic 1895 sporting camp with a faded-red farmhouse and eleven log cabins on Meadows Lake.
Banks confirms that Barbara and Maxine were sisters, but refuses to explain their estrangement, citing a confidentiality vow to Maxine. He does reveal that Maxine was engaged to novelist Miles David Easton, who died in a 1969 plane crash.
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Back in Pennsylvania, Kit’s husband Russ announces an open-ended European cycling trip he planned without her, alongside a female companion. Kit watches the revelation on FaceTime from Maine. Their thirty-year marriage ends in an amicable divorce.
Meanwhile, Kit and Maxine’s best friend Greta Crimmins open a blanket chest at the foot of Maxine’s bed. Inside a handmade quilt, they find the skeletal remains of a stillborn infant.
Police Chief Hal Anderson, the state medical examiner, and Detective Stevens launch an investigation. Kit submits a DNA sample, and Hal requests one from Beth as well.
Inspired by the camp’s beauty, Abby and Beth convince Kit to renovate rather than sell. Mary Gail, a waitress at Ruthie’s diner, spreads word through Tolerance, and dozens of townspeople volunteer their labor in tribute to Maxine’s past kindnesses.
The forensic results arrive: the infant was a stillborn boy and Kit’s full biological brother. DNA further confirms that Kit and Beth are first cousins, not sisters.
Confronted, Banks finally discloses the truth. Maxine was Kit’s biological mother, and Miles Easton was her biological father.
After losing her first child and then Miles, Maxine suffered a breakdown while delivering Kit. Barbara and her husband Ed took the newborn, raised her as their own, and secured a legal agreement barring Maxine from ever claiming her.
Banks then presents Kit with a box from his vault. Inside is the yellowed manuscript of Miles Easton’s final novel, A Cabin in the Woods: A Love Story, mailed to Maxine days before his fatal crash and hidden for fifty-five years.
The novel ends with the family preparing to reopen the camp. At Tolerance Cemetery, Maxine’s ashes, the stillborn infant’s remains, and leather-bound copies of Miles’s works are buried together.
Wearing Maxine’s emerald engagement ring and holding Chief Hal Anderson’s arm, Kit steps into her new life in Maine.
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Summary by Chapter (Spoilers)
This section offers a brief summary of each chapter for readers who want to explore what’s inside.
The novel contains 38 sections: Chapter One through Chapter Thirty-Seven, plus an Epilogue.
Chapter 1: Kit dreams of her late mother beckoning Beth, who refuses to leave. Russ dismisses her grief. Abby arrives with Benny after catching Evan cheating, and Kit deletes a voicemail about an inheritance from an aunt she never knew.
Chapter 2: Russ and Kit discuss Abby’s crisis and the money missing from Beth’s coffee shop. Abby contacts a divorce attorney. Kit blocks the Maine number.
Chapter 3: A FedEx package arrives with deeds, a map, and a letter confirming Maxine was Barbara’s sister. Kit and Abby study photos of the camp.
Chapter 4: Russ urges Kit to sell without visiting. Kit insists on flying to Maine to learn why her mother hid Maxine’s existence.
Chapter 5: Kit meets Jeremy Banks and Caroline Banks in Tolerance. At Ruthie’s diner, locals offer condolences. Banks refuses to discuss the sisters’ feud.
Chapter 6: Banks explains the camp’s 1895 origins and hands over keys. Kit meets caretaker Liam Anderson, then briefly explores the dark farmhouse.
Chapter 7: Kit checks into the Tolerance Inn, run by Elly Crosby. She calls home, eats a late dinner with Elly, and sleeps.
Chapter 8: At Ruthie’s, Kit meets Greta Crimmins. She explores the farmhouse with Beth on FaceTime and finds a photo of the striking Maxine.
Chapter 9: Kit finds a 1961 class ring, a note from Barbara, and a torn slip of paper. Banks identifies the man in a bedside photo as novelist Miles David Easton.
Chapter 10: Banks explains that Miles wrote at cabin eleven, died in a 1969 plane crash, and that the cabin burned down soon after. Maxine never married.
Chapter 11: Kit researches her family at the local library. Elly notes Maxine attended college despite her father’s views. Abby vents about Evan, and Kit learns Russ has joined a cycling group.
Chapter 12: Russ pressures Kit to return for his retirement party. Beth reveals a barista confessed to stealing from the register. Kit finds old guest ledgers showing the camp operated until two years before Maxine’s death.
Chapter 13: While sorting clothes, Greta asks for a sweatshirt and quilt. Opening the blanket chest, both women discover skeletal infant remains.
Chapter 14: Greta calls Chief Hal Anderson. Dr. Steele finds no trauma, suggesting stillbirth. Detective Stevens interviews Kit and requests a DNA swab. Russ accuses Kit of fabricating excuses.
Chapter 15: Technicians process the bedroom while Kit waits downstairs. Liam delivers pizzas. Kit falls asleep in an armchair reading a Miles Easton novel.
Chapter 16: Hal informs Kit the forensic team has finished. They tour the cabins and visit the charred foundation of cabin eleven, where rumors about Maxine persist.
Chapter 17: Kit explores the boathouse with Hal, reflecting on Maxine’s grief. Greta expresses sorrow over the remains, then leaves. Kit returns to the inn.
Chapter 18: Ned FaceTimes Kit from Russ’s retirement party. Russ announces an open-ended European cycling trip, with a blonde woman standing close by. Kit confronts him the next morning.
Chapter 19: Kit resolves to take control of her life. Cleaning Maxine’s magazines, she finds articles about Miles and an interview announcing his novel A Cabin in the Woods: A Love Story.
Chapter 20: Kit finds twenty-seven unretrieved voicemails from repeat campers. She spends hours returning calls and cannot bring herself to say the camp will close.
Chapter 21: Banks says they must wait for DNA results and suggests selling to developers. At Ruthie’s, Kit notices locals watching her. Benny bursts through the farmhouse door.
Chapter 22: Abby, Benny, and Beth arrive. Abby explains she left Pennsylvania after Russ’s behavior. At dinner, Mary Gail notes Beth’s resemblance to Barbara.
Chapter 23: Beth resolves the coffee shop theft with restitution. Elly invites Abby for wine. The next morning, the family drives out to begin cleaning the camp.
Chapter 24: The women organize china and silverware. Hal visits, and Abby questions him about his personal life. He walks the group down to inspect the cabins.
Chapter 25: A mother moose and calf cross the grounds. Abby photographs cabins and takes inventory. Hal calls Kit to request a private meeting about the DNA results.
Chapter 26: Hal reveals the infant was a stillborn boy and Kit’s full biological brother. He requests a swab from Beth. The family reacts with disbelief.
Chapter 27: Abby and Beth pitch a plan to renovate and reopen the camp. Beth wants to sell her coffee shop. Kit decides to confront Russ in Pennsylvania first.
Chapter 28: Kit finds Russ returning from a bike ride with the blonde woman. They argue, Kit reveals the infant was her brother, and both agree the marriage is over.
Chapter 29: Kit digs up garden plants for the move. She visits Ned at the coffee shop, shows him Maxine’s photo, and drives back to Maine with Wally.
Chapter 30: Kit stops at Ruthie’s, where Mary Gail welcomes her back. Beth arrives a week later, and the three women divide operational duties.
Chapter 31: Abby goes out with Elly. Kit reflects on six months of change. Abby returns tipsy, reporting that local tradesmen offered to help repair the camp.
Chapter 32: Hal delivers Beth’s DNA results: she and Kit are first cousins, not sisters. Kit confronts Banks, who confirms Maxine and Miles were her biological parents and the infant was her brother.
Chapter 33: Banks retrieves a box Maxine left for Kit containing Miles’s lost manuscript, mailed days before his crash. Kit inherits all of Miles’s literary royalties and the right to publish.
Chapter 34: Kit reads Miles’s love letter aloud to Beth and Abby. Beth reassures Kit their bond is unbroken. Kit sits on the porch under the stars and resumes reading.
Chapter 35: Greta returns Maxine’s jewelry and silver, including an emerald engagement ring. She encourages Kit to wear it, explaining Maxine kept it for her.
Chapter 36: Kit and Russ exchange peaceful farewells before his trip to Venice. The town librarian proposes a book club focused on Miles Easton’s works, and the family agrees to join.
Chapter 37: Mary Gail spreads word of the renovation, and dozens of townspeople arrive to volunteer. Mary Gail closes the diner to cater lunch. Hal invites Kit to dinner.
Epilogue: Family and townspeople gather at the cemetery for Maxine’s burial. Her cremains, the infant’s remains, and copies of Miles’s works are interred together. Wearing Maxine’s ring, Kit takes Hal’s arm and walks forward.
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Characters In This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Katherine “Kit” Porterfield | Protagonist; a former children’s librarian who learns she is the biological daughter of Maxine Meadows and Miles Easton. |
| Russ Porterfield | Kit’s husband of thirty years, whose secret travel plans and detachment lead to divorce. |
| Maxine Meadows | Kit’s biological mother; she preserved her stillborn son’s remains and left her estate to Kit. |
| Barbara Clark | Kit’s raised mother and biological aunt, who adopted Kit and erased Maxine from her life. |
| Beth Clark Miller | Kit’s sister and biological first cousin; a coffee shop owner recovering from cancer. |
| Abby Kent | Kit’s daughter, who leaves her unfaithful husband and leads the camp’s restoration. |
| Benny Kent | Abby’s two-year-old son. |
| Miles David Easton | Maxine’s fiancé and Kit’s biological father; a novelist who died in a 1969 plane crash. |
| Jeremy Banks | Attorney in Tolerance who managed Maxine’s estate and kept the family secrets. |
| Greta Crimmins | Maxine’s lifelong best friend, who helps Kit and discovers the infant remains. |
| Chief Hal Anderson | Tolerance Police Chief and former FBI agent who investigates the remains. |
| Liam Anderson | Hal’s teenage son and caretaker of the camp. |
| Caroline Banks Anderson | Jeremy Banks’s daughter and a partner in his law firm. |
| Elly Crosby | Innkeeper at the Tolerance Inn who befriends Abby. |
| Mary Gail | Waitress at Ruthie’s diner who rallies the town to renovate the camp. |
| Detective Stevens | Maine State Police detective leading the forensic investigation. |
| Dr. Steele | Tolerance physician and deputy medical examiner. |
| Edward “Ed” Clark | Kit’s late adoptive father, who required a legal agreement when taking Kit. |
| Ned Porterfield | Kit’s son; a barista who manages Beth’s coffee shop. |
| Evan Kent | Abby’s unfaithful playwright husband. |
| Wally | Kit’s basset hound. |
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Beneath the Surface
| Theme | How the Book Presents It |
|---|---|
| Family Secrets and Hidden Truths | Barbara denies her sister’s existence for decades, Kit’s biological parentage is concealed, an infant’s remains are hidden in a quilt, and a manuscript stays buried for fifty-five years. |
| Grief, Loss, and Endurance | Maxine mourns Miles and her lost child for decades; Beth battles cancer; Abby endures marital betrayal; Kit processes the end of a thirty-year marriage. |
| Reinvention and Second Chances | Kit confronts her failing marriage, Beth leaves her business for Maine, Abby claims independence, and the dormant camp is restored. |
| Female Solidarity and Sisterhood | Kit and Beth’s bond holds through every revelation, Greta keeps faith with Maxine, Abby befriends Elly, and women support one another through crises. |
| Community and Small-Town Kinship | Tolerance residents gather at Ruthie’s diner and volunteer en masse to renovate the camp out of gratitude for Maxine’s past generosity. |
Memorable Quotes
“For the past five nights in a row, Kit had found herself in the exact same dream. She’d watched as their late mother stood in a doorway, arm outstretched and beckoning, and in that no-nonsense, impatient way she had when she was alive and you weren’t moving quickly enough to suit her, she said, ‘Come with me, now, Bethy. It’s time to move on.'”
“My name is Jeremy Banks. I’m an attorney up here in Tolerance, Maine, and I’m trying to locate Katherine Clark Porterfield. I’m hoping that’s who I reached.”
“While you are of the understanding that your mother, Barbara Lee Meadows Clark, was an only child, I must assure you, she was not. She and Maxine were definitely sisters, the daughters of Thomas and Annalee Meadows.”
“Oh, Tolerance had no kinder soul than your aunt, honey. ‘Course in her later years, she could be all bluster and bully sometimes on the outside, as I am sure you know, but she had a good heart.”
“That’s not a doll, Greta,” she said softly even as her heart raced. “That’s—that’s . . .” “That’s a baby,” Kit said. “Or what remains of one.”
“The report indicates that he was your brother.”
