A discovery on Washington Island brings new controversy among the locals, and Emily Martin has plans that will annoy all concerned. Meanwhile, Nancy is in love, Nelsen’s is for sale, and Fiona’s resignation from local government creates an opening that reopens old grievances. Even among the bickering, though, when bad news reaches the island, the shocked community forgets its animosities and rallies to offer support.
J.F. Riordan was born in New Jersey and first moved to Michigan, then Wisconsin as a child. At the age of 14 she decided to become an opera singer, and was fortunate in the aftermath to have been able to sing. At 16, after two years of high school, she went to the University of New Mexico to study voice, continued her music studies in Chicago and Milwaukee, and ultimately became a professional singer. Homesick after years of travel, she came home to the Midwest, finished her college degree, and became certified to teach high school. She taught for three years in the inner city before taking a position as a program officer for a foundation. She lives in exile from Washington Island with her husband and two dogs. North of the Tension Line is her first novel.
