Publication Date: November 25, 2025
In this riveting story of family bonds and buried truths, a young woman’s homecoming becomes a reckoning as four days together threaten to shatter the comfortable lies that have held her family together.
In the summer of 1967, the Levitsky family convenes for a long weekend at their home in the suburbs—an idyllic holiday for the perfect family.
But Nora has always known better.
Growing up, she learned to tiptoe around her mother Lillian’s explosive temper. Her father did the same. Nora’s sole confidante was their housekeeper, Clara, and their bond has only strengthened through the years. In fact, it’s all that’s keeping Nora together for her homecoming. But under that lifetime of pressure, the facade is beginning to splinter.
Over the next four days, everyone’s secrets are at risk. None more so than what Nora really wants for her life, how Clara has helped her get it…and how they’ve orchestrated it all behind Lillian’s back.
As the family grapples with the complex ties that bind them, Nora discovers that facing the truth—however painful—might be the key to finally breaking free. This weekend, Nora’s bravest act may be in knowing which bonds to cherish and which ones need to be gently set aside, making room for a future of her own choosing.
The summer of 1967 marks a significant milestone for the Levitsky family, setting the stage for a confrontation that threatens to shatter the external facade.
Author Marshall Fine delves into complicated family relationships in Hemlock Lane. Featuring alternating perspectives, readers are introduced to Sol and Lillian, along with their adult daughters, Amelia and Nora. The housekeeper, Clara, also plays a prominent role, having been with the family since before Nora was born.
At the center is the matriarch, a hypercritical woman who has basically delegated the role of mother to Clara, but would never admit it. The girls share a close bond with Clara, aka their secret mother.
Keeping the peace appears to have been the attitude toward Lillian’s actions, but long-brewing emotions finally come to the surface. Once the dust settles, Nora must weigh the value of found family and accept that not all relationships are healthy.
The author provides a detailed account of the past, indicating how the marriage between Sol and Lillian came about, and offering clues that could have contributed to Lillian’s attitude.
Hemlock Lane features a young woman wrestling with making her own choices, which leads to a confrontation with her controlling mother.
Minneapolis native Marshall Fine’s career as an award-winning journalist, critic, and filmmaker has spanned fifty years. Before his bestselling 2024 fiction debut, The Autumn of Ruth Winters, Fine wrote biographies of filmmakers John Cassavetes and Sam Peckinpah, directed documentaries about film critic Rex Reed and comedian Robert Klein, conducted the Playboy interview with Howard Stern, and chaired the New York Film Critics Circle four times. The author currently lives in Ossining, New York.
