Saying goodbye to a series

I admit I miss the characters already. Even though the proverbial ink has not yet dried on the Carson Chronicles series, I miss the fictional family I have lived with for more than two and a half years.

With the release of Camp Lake, the fifth and final book, I say so long to the seven original members of the Carson clan and their significant others. I close the door on a memorable time-travel series.

Like River Rising, The Memory Tree, Indian Paintbrush, and Caitlin's Song, Camp Lake embraces a place and a time — in this case, Maine in 1983.

Though the novel begins and ends in the Carsons' home state of Arizona, it finds a home in the Pine Tree State.

Nineteen-year-old Cody, the youngest of the three sons, takes center stage in this one.

Along with Caitlin, his brainy twin sister, and Dennis Sawyer, his talented and thoughtful friend, he travels to prestigious Camp Washington, where his missing middle-aged parents met as college students and where jobs, romance, and danger await.

For Cody, a nature counselor, the summer in New England is an opportunity to develop a friendship with a beautiful colleague, a young woman with a tragic secret. For Caitlin and Dennis, it is a chance to grow as a couple and test the boundaries of sacrifice.

For the five siblings, the summer is the next stop on a journey that started in 2017; continued in 1889, 1918, 1944, and 1962; and ends in the era of big hair, space shuttles, and MTV. For all of the Carsons, parents and children, it is a last chance to reunite as a family.

Filled with humor, adventure, and suspense, Camp Lake answers the questions and ties the loose ends of a tumultuous family saga. The novel, my fifteenth overall, goes on sale today at Amazon.com.