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Discovering Nowhere

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Moira Jeffers’ contented life as a stay-at-home mom becomes a free fall when her husband dies and she must surrender her beloved stepson to his workaholic mother. Floundering, Moira grabs on to a surprise inheritance, her husband’s childhood home in a Midwestern town she’d never seen and had always thought of as Nowhere. Discovering her husband harbored secrets in the town makes Moira's arrival there anything but a soft landing. When a visit by her stepson and his newshound mother threatens to destroy the social fabric of the tiny town and reveal its heartaches, Moira must choose between her love for her stepson and her desire to protect a place she never expected to call home.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2012

16 people are currently reading
209 people want to read

About the author

Lisa Bork

7 books126 followers
Lisa Bork is the author of seven contemporary novels. Her most recent release is Missed. Lisa is also the author of Counting on You and Discovering Nowhere as well as the Broken Vows mystery series. Her debut novel, For Better, For Murder, was a 2009 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. The second book in the series, For Richer, For Danger, was released in September 2010 and In Sickness and In Death hit the shelves September 2011. The fourth book in the series, To Love and To Perish was released in December 2012.

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5 stars
36 (22%)
4 stars
65 (39%)
3 stars
49 (30%)
2 stars
9 (5%)
1 star
4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,455 reviews26 followers
June 3, 2012
Lovely story. Great characters, great plot, quick read, holds your attention.

Moira Jeffers’ contented life as a stay-at-home mom becomes a free fall when her husband dies and she must surrender her beloved stepson to his workaholic mother. Floundering, Moira grabs on to a surprise inheritance, her husband’s childhood home in a Midwestern town she’d never seen and had always thought of as Nowhere. Discovering her husband harbored secrets in the town makes Moira's arrival there anything but a soft landing. When a visit by her stepson and his newshound mother threatens to destroy the social fabric of the tiny town and reveal its heartaches, Moira must choose between her love for her stepson and her desire to protect a place she never expected to call home.
120 reviews1 follower
June 15, 2012
This book was given to me as a free download. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The characters were varied, engaging and believable. The scenario was realistic, engrossing and entertaining. The writing was able to have me observing very genuine characters and an original storyline. I felt like I visited Nowhere and would like to visit again. The ending was excellent however, I would like to ‘visit’ Nowhere in the future and see how the characters continue to develop and more on how their lives unfold.
Profile Image for Alexis Wright.
507 reviews15 followers
July 8, 2012
I only read this because it was free for Kindle on Amazon. If I had had to buy it, I would've given it zero stars and that's not even an option. As it is, it gets a 2, mainly because I can't believe I actually finished it. Now I feel mean, because at least the author did try to write something....would actually have made a somewhat mildly entertaining screenplay for a Lifetime movie. E for effort?
Profile Image for Lisa.
180 reviews3 followers
June 20, 2012
Really enjoyed the story and couldn't wait to see how it was going to pan out. It thought the ending was a little anti-climatic, but overall it was very good.
Profile Image for Mich.
1,513 reviews32 followers
July 5, 2012
Certainly wasn't a bad read. Entertaining. Wish maybe a bit more would've happened in it. Or even a sequel? Was free on kindle- not complaining!
Profile Image for Suzan.
1,707 reviews18 followers
September 19, 2017
This book really caught my attention. I didn't want to put it down. I really liked the way Lisa Bork worked the story out. This was the first book I have read by Lisa Bork but it will not be the last.
Profile Image for Susie.
457 reviews4 followers
September 24, 2012
3.5 stars.

I'm used to Lisa Bork's murder mysteries, so this was quite a change. It's a novel about a woman whose husband dies while parachuting. His son goes to live with his mother, he nullified his life insurance by parachuting and there's no money. His wife finds the will left by his parents in which he, and now she, owns a house in Nowhere, SD. Broken hearted, alone and low on funds, she leaves Rochester, NY for Nowhere with the intent on selling the house. But she never expected to be welcome by the little town, or for it to help her heal.

The biggest theme in this book (and I have noticed this in her other books) is that of motherhood. Moira, the main character, was a stay-at-home step-mother and put her step-son first. Once he goes to live with his mother, she buys a dog to shower with affection. Once she's in Nowhere, she befriends her neighbor's son and becomes a second mother to him. The end of the book didn't really wrap up everything in a neat and tidy box, but the main point was that Moira was a mom and would do anything for children.

There's a bit of a mystery, a bit of romance, a bit of humor, but not enough for those genres to take over. I would have liked a little more romance but it was still enjoyable.

You can see my review on my blog: http://susreviews.blogspot.com/2012/0...
Profile Image for Sheri.
2,126 reviews
June 11, 2012
Discovering Nowhere (Lisa Bork)
Moira Jeffers is a stay at home mom to her stepson Shaun, his mother (Cassie) is a well know journalist and has little time for him. When Moiras' husband dies suddenly things change drastically for Moira.

Soon her stepson is whisked away to New York city with his mother, With no job, little money Moira finds she has inherited her late husbands parents home in a small Midwest town she refers to as Nowhere. Once she arrives, she soon finds her husband had a lot of secrets.

At first she is not too fond of the house or the town, but the people are kind and a few mysterious. Then Her Stepson and his mother come for a visit and Cassie is set on unraveling a mystery that can destroy the lives of some people Moira has become close to. She must make the ultimate sacrifice, to protect the town secret with the possibility of losing her stepson forever.

Fast paced mystery. Lovable characters, and the perfect description of small town living. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
Profile Image for Beth.
802 reviews61 followers
May 25, 2012
good read.

The story is consistent and thought provoking. Deals with grief, personal foibles and a local mystery. (I love that she can have a mystery that is not necessarily a murder mystery) there is an experience of human responses to change.

I sometimes wonder if the author has parenting experience because her descriptions on those aspects just don't come across as someone who's raised kids, but otherwise I find her stories rather enjoyable. (also doesn't mean she doesn't have the experience just because it strikes me as off) It isn't a huge part of the story so its not altogether particularly important, just something that digs at me, things like referring to a certain child as a love child, that's a personal irritant to me, kids are kids. Aside from which I found it irrelevant in to the story. I think it goes along with the cardinal rule. Such titles are offensive in my world view. Anyway other than that I really enjoyed the story, I'd definitely purchase it in regular book form. Looking forward to more books from this author.
Profile Image for Rosalee.
Author 7 books17 followers
June 17, 2012
Wow! The simple version is that a middle aged woman, Moire, tries to reinvent her life after her husband dies suddenly, and finding that she has inherited his parents' home - where she has never been - leads her to Nowhere to try to get closure and move on. The people of Nowhere are not what she expects and she is quite surprised by some of things she learns about her husband. As with any small town, there is the inevitable of everyone knowing everyones business, and also the secrets. Bork does a great job of making the characters from Moire to Ryan and Shaun and Cassie as well as the long time residents of Nowhere and the secret that binds a small group. Tugs at the heartstrings (yup, have a box of kleenex handy), resonates with anyone who has experienced divorce or loss, throw in some good times, some laughes, and you discover Nowhere and a powerful message. Well done!
Profile Image for Jane.
759 reviews15 followers
May 26, 2012
I was just going to read the first few chapters - it was late and I was going to bed. But I was still up way after midnight because I had to finish this book. I was hooked and had to find out what had happened with Moira's husband and why know one wanted to talk about it. After her husband's unexpected death Moira finds that she's inherited her in-laws house in Nowhere SD. As they weren't ever very close she's curious and having been left very little money and her stepson going to live with his mother she decides to check it out. I thought it was absorbing and I liked the characters. All the charms of the small town and Moira being accepted into the "family".
Profile Image for Barbara.
1,004 reviews11 followers
June 4, 2014
Discovering Nowhere was a really pleasant surprise. I’ve had it on my Kindle for a while and finally got around to reading it. I loved this book! I loved the town and the characters. I’d love to live there and have them all as my friends. The story was believable. It was a quick read, but I didn’t want it to end. I wish there was a sequel. A series with these characters and the town of Nowhere could very quickly become one of my guilty pleasures. It was a very charming story and I loved it. Definitely a very enjoyable read!
Note: Couldn’t find Discovering Nowhere on Amazon, so I couldn’t leave a review. I wonder why it wasn’t there.
Profile Image for Larry.
111 reviews16 followers
January 24, 2013
I loved this book. I thought it was very well written, with interesting, believable characters I could identify with. Each chapter left me wanting more, not because of any kind of cliff hanger (there were none of those, thank goodness) but because the characters were just really wonderful people whom I could wish I had in my own life. I enjoyed how the author brought out the deep emotions being felt by the main character, Moira, without needing to draw her into an unnecessary romance that would not have added to the story. I would really enjoy reading more by this author.
Profile Image for Penny Ramirez.
2,033 reviews30 followers
June 10, 2012
Really 3.5 stars. Unusual for me in that I can't figure out exactly how to classify this book - I'm so used to pigeonholing all the genre fiction I read!

An enjoyable tale of a woman reinventing herself after her husband suddenly dies, leaving her his family home in Nowhere, South Dakota - a place she's never been, full of wonderful small town characters and a bit of a mystery. A nice, feel-good read - made even better because the author made it available for free on Amazon! Thanks, Lisa!
Profile Image for Joyce.
1,801 reviews20 followers
October 7, 2012


This was a lot more chick lit than mystery. A woman is widowed and goes to her late husband's childhood home when she is unable to retain the home where they lived. It is a story of growth and small town values and how they effect the woman and her family. It is fast reading and the kind of novel most women would enjoy.
Profile Image for Kelly Cochran.
Author 6 books14 followers
April 23, 2012
Nowhere seemed like somewhere when I finished reading this novel by Lisa Bork. I enjoyed getting to the know the people in the town and found myself more and more curious to learn the town secret. A very nice read!
Profile Image for Rexanna Ipock-Brown.
Author 2 books8 followers
June 3, 2012
A great book. It was compelling and touching. There was mystery, grief, and romance. Personally, I would have liked the romance to be a bit stronger and a bit more adult, but the book is a must read.
Profile Image for Diana.
1,954 reviews12 followers
May 27, 2012
A fine novel with great character development & an intriguing plot that is not only believable, but enjoyable to read. I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel & cannot recommend it highly enough.
Profile Image for Jeri Mihm.
40 reviews2 followers
June 29, 2012
this was a nice book, quick to read, and a good story line. I enjoyed it. Got it for free on Amazon for Kindle.
Profile Image for Darinda.
142 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2012
Very thought provoking story. I really enjoyed it. Moira is a likable character
403 reviews1 follower
August 31, 2012
I wish there were 3.5 stars. I liked the main character and could empathize with her situation and pain. Good light summer read.
Profile Image for Marilyn.
130 reviews3 followers
February 12, 2013
Definitely not something I would have read other than it being a freebie. It was so fluffy and ill played out. As said by Alexis, it was like a Lifetime movie. Not for me.
15 reviews
April 1, 2013
fun quick read. really enjoyed the characters
Profile Image for Melissa.
38 reviews
August 4, 2013
Very good; hard to put down. I really loved how the story started with a widow trying to pick up the pieces, then turned into a mystery, and then turned again ....
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews