Every Breath

The story is linked to a real place: a weathered mailbox in the dunes, called Kindred Spirit, where strangers leave letters and notes. Sparks frames the novel as a story he discovered there, which gives it a pleasing sense of mystery. Hope and Tru feel immediately connected, but both have obligations, and the question at the heart of the book is what they owe their families and what they owe themselves.

Tru is one of Sparks's more unusual heroes: an artist and guide who grew up in rural Zimbabwe, and his descriptions of the African bush add freshness to a familiar formula. The slow, tender build of their romance is handled with restraint, and the later sections, stretching across many years, carry real emotional weight.

As often with Sparks, the plot depends on painful decisions and coincidences, and some readers may find the middle section slow. Have tissues ready for the ending. The North Carolina coast is vividly drawn, from quiet beach mornings to small-town restaurants, and Sparks gives the supporting characters, especially Hope's family, real depth and warmth. About 336 pages in the Grand Central paperback.