What do you think?
Rate this book
A Crooked Cottage by the Sea
Bar Harbor, summer of 1967
When Billie Cooper receives a startling medical diagnosis just before a summer-long vacation, she decides to keep it secret. Her husband Derek is a Defense Department official immersed in the Vietnam war effort. Her two sons are backpacking through Europe. She can’t burden them. She has to face the issue alone.
She settles into a beautiful house on a hundred-foot-high cliff just south of Bar Harbor. With her husband often in Washington, D.C., Billie befriends a part-time cook named Lillian Moore. Of Native American heritage, Lillian introduces her to ancient remedies in a desperate attempt to cure what might never be cured. Billie also befriends a senile neighbor, Riley James, a lonely but lovable man who tells preposterous stories and lives in a crooked cottage by the sea, as well as three young girls who joyfully play in a secret fort hidden in nearby woods. This mismatched band of friends, and the clues contained in an overgrown family cemetery, teach Billie the meaning of life, helping her see what she had never before seen. She touches the hearts and souls of those around her, just as they touch hers, friendships formed for eternity.
When Billie Cooper receives a startling medical diagnosis just before a summer-long vacation, she decides to keep it secret. Her husband Derek is a Defense Department official immersed in the Vietnam war effort. Her two sons are backpacking through Europe. She can’t burden them. She has to face the issue alone.
She settles into a beautiful house on a hundred-foot-high cliff just south of Bar Harbor. With her husband often in Washington, D.C., Billie befriends a part-time cook named Lillian Moore. Of Native American heritage, Lillian introduces her to ancient remedies in a desperate attempt to cure what might never be cured. Billie also befriends a senile neighbor, Riley James, a lonely but lovable man who tells preposterous stories and lives in a crooked cottage by the sea, as well as three young girls who joyfully play in a secret fort hidden in nearby woods. This mismatched band of friends, and the clues contained in an overgrown family cemetery, teach Billie the meaning of life, helping her see what she had never before seen. She touches the hearts and souls of those around her, just as they touch hers, friendships formed for eternity.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2023
451 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
John Anthony Miller
19 books345 followersJohn Anthony Miller writes all things historical—thrillers, mysteries, and romance. He sets his novels in exotic locations spanning all eras of space and time, with complex characters forced to face inner conflicts—fighting demons both real and imagined. Each of his novels is unique: a Medieval epic, five historical mysteries, two Cold-War thrillers, two 1970’s cozy mysteries, a Revolutionary War spy novel, seven WWII thrillers, and The Castle on the Cliff. He lives in southern New Jersey.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
August 17, 2023
meh. This was a very easy read with several plot lines, so even though it was very repetitive I was looking forward to how they would all resolve. The ended predictably, corny, terrible, and some had no ending at all. Kinda pointless.
October 20, 2024
It wasn't necessarily bad, more of a high 2. Mostly it was just kind of boring for most of the book with the same stuff happening over and over. It seemed unimportant. There were a bunch of spelling and grammatical errors, which were distracting. Two of the characters randomly switch from being bad guys to good guys with no explanation. There were times it was interesting but too little too late.
March 21, 2025
Weird book
Wasn't sure what to think about this boo,k.It was sometimes slow and repetitive and The ending was fast and unsatisfying.
Wasn't sure what to think about this boo,k.It was sometimes slow and repetitive and The ending was fast and unsatisfying.
January 7, 2025
I frequently wondered why I kept reading this book. The repetitious style, not just words but paragraphs, became irritating. There was a lot of potential in the plot that wasn’t realized, and the interesting parts of the story were all bunched up in the last pages.
July 6, 2023
Okay read.
I finished this book because the plot was intriguing. The writing was a bit tedious and repetitive. The characters somehow lacked dimension. The ending felt right.
I finished this book because the plot was intriguing. The writing was a bit tedious and repetitive. The characters somehow lacked dimension. The ending felt right.
September 19, 2023
I Wanted More
Wonderful Wonderful story but you left out what happened to that rotten husband of hers and you left out in between times when she probably had a friend With whom she could share and I couldn't get that from you
Wonderful Wonderful story but you left out what happened to that rotten husband of hers and you left out in between times when she probably had a friend With whom she could share and I couldn't get that from you
July 20, 2023
Amazing
I have just discovered John Anthony Miller. He is an amazing author. A Crooked Cottage by the Sea is a book filled with intrigue, suspense and emotion. I started reading and continued reading until the last sentence ended. Then I burst into tears at the unanticipated ending. I will certainly continue reading books by this author.
I have just discovered John Anthony Miller. He is an amazing author. A Crooked Cottage by the Sea is a book filled with intrigue, suspense and emotion. I started reading and continued reading until the last sentence ended. Then I burst into tears at the unanticipated ending. I will certainly continue reading books by this author.
July 7, 2023
Tear Jerked
Life and all it's balances. Just when you think something is very wrong it is but it just may not materialize the way you may have thought. Filled with hope friends who introduce you to the unexpected. It won't let you down but it'll bring you down. Tissues required.
Life and all it's balances. Just when you think something is very wrong it is but it just may not materialize the way you may have thought. Filled with hope friends who introduce you to the unexpected. It won't let you down but it'll bring you down. Tissues required.
July 7, 2023
Beautifully gripping
Such a real story many will identify with on some levels! Friendship is the highlight here. Surprises pop up throughout, and quite unexpectedly. I loved this novel!
Such a real story many will identify with on some levels! Friendship is the highlight here. Surprises pop up throughout, and quite unexpectedly. I loved this novel!
August 14, 2023
Amazing! 😍 I highly recommend. 💖
This novel has it all! Mystery, intrigue, betrayal, love....
You want it? This has it! Honestly, I didn't want it to end.
"A Crooked Cottage By The Sea",
written by John Anthony Miller.
A real treasure!🏴☠️💗
This novel has it all! Mystery, intrigue, betrayal, love....
You want it? This has it! Honestly, I didn't want it to end.
"A Crooked Cottage By The Sea",
written by John Anthony Miller.
A real treasure!🏴☠️💗
August 21, 2023
Wow, what a book. Billie Cooper receives a startling medical diagnosis just before a summer-long vacation, she decides to keep it secret. Her husband Derek is a Defense Department. She doesn't want to tell anyone unless she has to about her condition. The ending is amazing!!
January 15, 2024
The Crooked Cottage by the Sea by John Anthony Miller is a wonderful book that explores questions of loyalty to one’s country – specifically, how could a man or woman betray his or her country? – of loneliness - the loneliness of a woman, withholding a medical prognosis from her family, while facing the greatest and deadliest challenge of her life, of friendship - who befriends a lonely man living in a crooked cottage by the sea, of whom everyone in town believes is an eccentric old man, and three little girls - Sarah, Alice, and Nancy - who putatively live nearby in Bar Harbor, Maine, and mortality – how does one cope with one’s own mortality?
Miller skillfully addresses these captivating subjects in his novel by skillfully merging three genres. The first is a “medical genre,” which we learn at the start of the narrative – the first page – that Billie Cooper, a forty-seven-year-old housewife, and college professor, who lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her family, has a brain tumor, and must go for radiation treatments and chemotherapy at Harvard Medical in Boston. Miller describes Billie’s medical journey and apprehensions in detail, as she withholds the diagnosis from her family – from her husband, Derek, who works for the Department of Defense, and their two boys – Bobby and Joe, college students, who are away from home, backpacking through Europe, while not only accepting the diagnosis of the medical doctors trained in the medicine of western civilization, but she also seeking out the medical therapy, passed down from one generation to the next, found in Native American cultures.
Derek and Billie rent a cottage in Bar Harbor for the summer, and while Derek is kept busy, sitting on the deck, reading classified information that he keeps locked in a briefcase at his side, and traveling back and forth to Washington, DC, to attend high-level meetings, concerning the placement of missile silos throughout the country and a forthcoming trip to Vietnam, Billie is left alone with no one to talk to but Lillian Moore, the housekeeper and cook. To strengthen her leg which she had injured during a ski vacation in Switzerland, she takes daily walks along a road that leads past Riley James’s crooked cottage, where she often runs into Sarah, Alice, and Nancy, playing in a secret hideaway.
As Billie relationship with Riley grows stronger, she realizes that she and Riley are very much alike. Both are lonely, and both are suffering from terminal illnesses. Here, in these encounters, Reiley tells her stories about his life and his daughter, Astrid James, a famous movie star.
The second significant genre Miller uses to captivate and build suspense for his readers is the “genre of the spy story.” Espionage! Where first appearances may be quite deceiving. There are twists in the spy genre narrative that will surprise you. Miller also raises the question: could a foreign power approach a man, with a wife and two children in college, with sky rocketing expenses, and convince him to turn against his country and hand over secret, classified documents for remuneration? Miller’s narrative is an explicit illustration how one may be easily seduced to become a spy, even a double agent, reminding me of such great novels as John Le Carre’s: A Perfect Spy, Agent Running in the Field, Smiley’s People, The Night Manager, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Miller writes about this subject with ease and finesse.
In the last few pages of the narrative, Miller reveals to his readers the last significant genre of the book. It is here where you will discover that The Crooked Cottage by the Sea is also a ghost story. It is an unexpected, but fabulous twist that clearly brings the narrative to a memorable conclusion. It will remind you of The Sixth Sense, a film directed by Shyamalan, featuring Bruce Willis, as Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, and Haley Joel Osment, as Cole Sear, the boy who sees dead people. You will not be disappointed, as Billie, surrounded by family, friends, and spirits, in George Washington University Hospital, courageously faces her mortality.
Miller has done a magnificent job, bringing this story to life, one that touches upon loneliness, family, survival, friendship, and love. And, thus, I highly recommend this book to all readers.
Miller skillfully addresses these captivating subjects in his novel by skillfully merging three genres. The first is a “medical genre,” which we learn at the start of the narrative – the first page – that Billie Cooper, a forty-seven-year-old housewife, and college professor, who lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her family, has a brain tumor, and must go for radiation treatments and chemotherapy at Harvard Medical in Boston. Miller describes Billie’s medical journey and apprehensions in detail, as she withholds the diagnosis from her family – from her husband, Derek, who works for the Department of Defense, and their two boys – Bobby and Joe, college students, who are away from home, backpacking through Europe, while not only accepting the diagnosis of the medical doctors trained in the medicine of western civilization, but she also seeking out the medical therapy, passed down from one generation to the next, found in Native American cultures.
Derek and Billie rent a cottage in Bar Harbor for the summer, and while Derek is kept busy, sitting on the deck, reading classified information that he keeps locked in a briefcase at his side, and traveling back and forth to Washington, DC, to attend high-level meetings, concerning the placement of missile silos throughout the country and a forthcoming trip to Vietnam, Billie is left alone with no one to talk to but Lillian Moore, the housekeeper and cook. To strengthen her leg which she had injured during a ski vacation in Switzerland, she takes daily walks along a road that leads past Riley James’s crooked cottage, where she often runs into Sarah, Alice, and Nancy, playing in a secret hideaway.
As Billie relationship with Riley grows stronger, she realizes that she and Riley are very much alike. Both are lonely, and both are suffering from terminal illnesses. Here, in these encounters, Reiley tells her stories about his life and his daughter, Astrid James, a famous movie star.
The second significant genre Miller uses to captivate and build suspense for his readers is the “genre of the spy story.” Espionage! Where first appearances may be quite deceiving. There are twists in the spy genre narrative that will surprise you. Miller also raises the question: could a foreign power approach a man, with a wife and two children in college, with sky rocketing expenses, and convince him to turn against his country and hand over secret, classified documents for remuneration? Miller’s narrative is an explicit illustration how one may be easily seduced to become a spy, even a double agent, reminding me of such great novels as John Le Carre’s: A Perfect Spy, Agent Running in the Field, Smiley’s People, The Night Manager, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Miller writes about this subject with ease and finesse.
In the last few pages of the narrative, Miller reveals to his readers the last significant genre of the book. It is here where you will discover that The Crooked Cottage by the Sea is also a ghost story. It is an unexpected, but fabulous twist that clearly brings the narrative to a memorable conclusion. It will remind you of The Sixth Sense, a film directed by Shyamalan, featuring Bruce Willis, as Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, and Haley Joel Osment, as Cole Sear, the boy who sees dead people. You will not be disappointed, as Billie, surrounded by family, friends, and spirits, in George Washington University Hospital, courageously faces her mortality.
Miller has done a magnificent job, bringing this story to life, one that touches upon loneliness, family, survival, friendship, and love. And, thus, I highly recommend this book to all readers.
May 22, 2024
I loved the cover and the set up seemed promising. The cover is a beautiful photo of Bass Harbor Light near Bar Harbor, Maine. In May 1967 Billie Cooper receives a diagnosis of brain cancer but she keeps it secret from her defense department employee husband Derick and her 2 college age sons. They all go ahead with their regular summer plans for Billie and Derick to rent a stunning cottage by the sea in Bar Harbor, Maine and for the boys to go to Europe backpacking. But the execution of this book is wildly unrealistic and there are multiple errors of wrong word usage. The characters are mostly flat and uninteresting. The whole cancer story is wildly unrealistic. Over the past 50 years I have lost 4 family members to cancer and I can tell you this is not how a cancer diagnosis works. Billie’s doctor diagnoses a brain tumor using X-rays and then recommends 1 week of radiation treatment several months in the future. Then Billie wants to reschedule it to make sure it happens when her husband is out of the country so she doesn’t have to tell him. She’s hoping it will magically cure her so she will never have to tell him. I’m not sure how much cat scans and MRIs were used in the 60s but I am 100% sure that X-rays do not diagnose cancer. Also you will be urged to start treatment as soon as possible. You will have to arrange your life around your treatments not the other way around.
There is a secondary plot line about Derick bringing classified and other important documents home and casually spreading them out on the deck furniture with his wife present and housekeeper lurking. This also is wildly unrealistic. We all know from the Trump documents case that you are not allowed to bring classified documents home to your beach house even if you are the former president.
The only character I found remotely interesting was Riley James, the elderly man (he is in his late 60s) who lives in the crooked cottage by the sea. Billie befriends him over the summer and listens to his amazing stories about his life. Some consider him crazy or senile. I actually found him a lot more credible than Billie did. I felt most of his stories could be true if a bit exaggerated.
The ending is a bit moving and sad. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for me.
There is a secondary plot line about Derick bringing classified and other important documents home and casually spreading them out on the deck furniture with his wife present and housekeeper lurking. This also is wildly unrealistic. We all know from the Trump documents case that you are not allowed to bring classified documents home to your beach house even if you are the former president.
The only character I found remotely interesting was Riley James, the elderly man (he is in his late 60s) who lives in the crooked cottage by the sea. Billie befriends him over the summer and listens to his amazing stories about his life. Some consider him crazy or senile. I actually found him a lot more credible than Billie did. I felt most of his stories could be true if a bit exaggerated.
The ending is a bit moving and sad. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for me.
January 10, 2026
This could have been a great story! The writing was elementary, at best, with tons of repetition and grammatical errors. Not sure it was ever proofread or edited. It’s like rough draft. The story could have easily been written in a third of the pages, and been a 5 star short story. The author constantly mentioned what they were eating for breakfast and dinner, that they ate out on the terrace, took cups of coffee out on the terrace, exactly where Billie walks each time, etc. Also every time the husband comes home he mentions how much his wife missed him. These things all had absolutely nothing to do with the story. The details were just adding burning, unnecessary pages, and almost made me not finish the book. The only reason I finished it, which I’m glad I did, is because my father-in-law gifted it to me for Christmas and I want to say I read it. Definitely won’t give it to him to read though. Not worth the time. Rewrite it in a short story, and I’d gladly hand it over to someone else to read.
March 10, 2024
“This is a quaint little town,” remarks Billie Cooper as her husband drives her through it to the expansive “cottage” where they will pass the summer. It’s 1967, a time of break-through military and medical advances which impact their lives—Billie’s, as she discovers a brain tumor in her head—and Derek’s, working for the Dept. of Defense. The Viet Nam War is accelerating, calling him farther and farther from her, while she secretly carries the knowledge of her mortality.
This is a mystery, a historical novel, and a cozy step back in time to rural Maine; it is also a time of crushing difficulties for a number of the characters.
It has some charming elements. As a cozy mystery, I’d give it four stars, but as historical fiction, only three, as it is well-written but not memorable.
This is a mystery, a historical novel, and a cozy step back in time to rural Maine; it is also a time of crushing difficulties for a number of the characters.
It has some charming elements. As a cozy mystery, I’d give it four stars, but as historical fiction, only three, as it is well-written but not memorable.
September 14, 2024
Hmmm, how to review this book. First, it was interesting reading a book written in 2023 but all about 1967 (sort of). As I was a teenager and then college student during this turbulent time, I appreciated the author bringing in social and political information from that time. I tried to like the story but found it tedious and repetitious. I struggled with the female character martyring herself for her children and husband regarding her health issues. I struggled mightily with the husband (maybe a man of that time, but so hard for me to like). And then the surprise regarding military secrets. Riley and the girls I truly enjoyed. Again, interesting about 1967 and so glad I no longer live in that time. Two and 1/2 stars rounded up to three.
September 2, 2023
I gave this book 2 stars for several reasons:
1) Multiple editing errors including grammar, word omission, and just plain ridiculous errors such as using the wrong name for Billie’s doctor.
2) plot was weak, book was repetitive
3) characters lacked dimension and the writing wasn’t at all compelling
Throughout the book I suspected the little girls weren’t real. I wondered if Riley was telling the truth. The husband Derek was not at all interesting or genuine.
This was a Kindle Unlimited selection so I didn’t lose anything but my time by reading it but certainly would not recommend it at all.
1) Multiple editing errors including grammar, word omission, and just plain ridiculous errors such as using the wrong name for Billie’s doctor.
2) plot was weak, book was repetitive
3) characters lacked dimension and the writing wasn’t at all compelling
Throughout the book I suspected the little girls weren’t real. I wondered if Riley was telling the truth. The husband Derek was not at all interesting or genuine.
This was a Kindle Unlimited selection so I didn’t lose anything but my time by reading it but certainly would not recommend it at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2023
I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were well-crafted and the mystery was maintained until nearly the end. So why only 2 stars? I rated it down due to the numerous errors in language and mechanics! This novel REALLY NEEDS a good editor, or short of that, at least a proof reader. What could have been a really good mainstream novel suffered hugely because of numerous small errors that should have been caught and corrected.
November 8, 2024
Unbelievable
The story of lives that pass and the friendships that are made for an eternity. I am typically a thriller reader, but this book pulled me into their lives. There were moments that were slow than touching moments and Derek. The cover doesn’t tell you about Derek. I kept wondering where the story was I read about, but it was there between the intrigue and was worth the wait. Just a human interest story of lives woven together.
The story of lives that pass and the friendships that are made for an eternity. I am typically a thriller reader, but this book pulled me into their lives. There were moments that were slow than touching moments and Derek. The cover doesn’t tell you about Derek. I kept wondering where the story was I read about, but it was there between the intrigue and was worth the wait. Just a human interest story of lives woven together.
August 31, 2024
Cottage in Maine
No book as made me cry s this one has. I'm not sure it was the Vietnam era, when I was a teenager, or not, The story is timeless. I am NOT a true Mainer. I'm "from" away; even after more 38 years. Riley was quite the storyteller. I loved every every word; sentence passage. Please don't skip anything!
No book as made me cry s this one has. I'm not sure it was the Vietnam era, when I was a teenager, or not, The story is timeless. I am NOT a true Mainer. I'm "from" away; even after more 38 years. Riley was quite the storyteller. I loved every every word; sentence passage. Please don't skip anything!
November 15, 2024
I didn’t think I’d like this book when I started reading it. The writing felt childish, the plot boring.
Stick with it! It gets better and you start swimming in the story. I was unable to stop reading, to stop wanting to finish.
Was some of it predictable? Yes, quite easily so. It still made for a fun read.
Stick with it! It gets better and you start swimming in the story. I was unable to stop reading, to stop wanting to finish.
Was some of it predictable? Yes, quite easily so. It still made for a fun read.
January 16, 2025
2.5 stars rounded to 3. A very quick read. The plot was good, but the lackluster writing took away from what could have been a very good work. The bulk of the story is delivered primarily by short, and often, repetitive conversation. Character development was lacking, and the end was fairly predictable. There are some glaring mistakes, that I am surprised got past editing.
November 26, 2023
Heart warming and mildly suspenseful.
Very pleasant and easy read. A good book for hot chocolate and a fireplace. Just take it at face value and try not to read too much into it or you’ll be disappointed. But I wasn’t!
Very pleasant and easy read. A good book for hot chocolate and a fireplace. Just take it at face value and try not to read too much into it or you’ll be disappointed. But I wasn’t!
January 22, 2024
waste of time
Horrible, repetitive, ignorant characters. I have trouble giving up on a book once I start. I had to skim half the book. It was predictable from the first chapter and in the worst way.
Horrible, repetitive, ignorant characters. I have trouble giving up on a book once I start. I had to skim half the book. It was predictable from the first chapter and in the worst way.
February 14, 2024
Wonderful book.
This was the first book I have read by this author but I will certainly look for more by him.I enjoyed it so much,reading late into the night.It was so well written and the characters came off the page.I highly recommend this book.
This was the first book I have read by this author but I will certainly look for more by him.I enjoyed it so much,reading late into the night.It was so well written and the characters came off the page.I highly recommend this book.
May 2, 2024
Billie just found out she has a brain tumor. Her husband has rented a place by the sea. She meets a man, who is a recluse, but Billie has become very close to him, and loves hearing about all his stories in his lifetime. The shocker to Billie is what her husband has been doing.
May 12, 2024
A fun and engaging story - perfect for a summer vacation read. Loved the references to Bar Harbor - such a peaceful and beautiful place! Well written - keeps your attention -good story line keeps you guessing until the end!
July 26, 2025
This book did have some very repetitive areas. There was some editing that needed to take place, many people probably didn’t notice, but I sure did. The book is about friendship through difficult times. I loved it.
June 19, 2023
Loved it!!!!!
Story was good brought me in the characters were good enjoyed it the end was as it should of been
Story was good brought me in the characters were good enjoyed it the end was as it should of been
July 5, 2023
What a beautiful story.
I couldn't put this book down. So captivated by all of the characters. And I was stunned by the ending, such unexpected revelations.
I couldn't put this book down. So captivated by all of the characters. And I was stunned by the ending, such unexpected revelations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews