Lesser Haven: A Florida Novel

by Christie Caliendo

Callie Crispen has lost the one thing a journalist can’t afford to lose—her ability to feel anything. Burned out on corruption, tragedy and the endless churn of the news cycle, she walks out of her newsroom mid-sentence and drives toward the only place that stirs something in a nowhere town called Moore Haven, Florida on the shores of Lake Okeechobee.
But the quiet Everglades country respite she’s seeking isn’t what it seems. The colorful locals whisper about things best left buried.
A wild-eyed girl named Sandy appears at Callie’s cabin, barefoot and terrified, claiming she’s never left the orange groves…or her father’s shadow. And the deeper Callie digs, the closer she comes to uncovering a story no one wants told.
In the humidity and stillness of Florida’s forgotten heartland, beauty and rot coexist, secrets fester and redemption may come too late.
A haunting blend of Southern gothic and psychological suspense, Lesser Haven is the story of one woman’s descent into the dark and complicated corners of rural America, and herself, as she uncovers the mesmerizing grace of Lake Okeechobee and the fragile truths of those who call it home.

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2025