A Fine Layer of Dust: A Novel

by Barbara Conrey, Joe Sanfelippo (Narrator)

Attorney Jake Trenton's perfectly ordered life unravels when he loses a promotion and his wife announces she wants to become a surrogate. While he spends even more time at the office to prove his worth, he worries about the effects on their family if Sophia carries a baby for a stranger.

Once Sophia explains how important it is to her to bear a child for someone who can't, Jake reluctantly agrees. However, when the embryo transfer is successful, Jake's carefully constructed world crumbles beneath the memory of his brother's death, which occurred years ago in the same month the baby is due.

With nightmares plaguing his sleep and rage consuming his days, Jake makes a devastating choice that will forever alter the lives of two families. Suddenly, he is the kind of man he never thought he would be. Jake must confront the darkest parts of himself and question everything he thought he knew about love, loss, and what it truly means to heal.

Audible Audio

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

Barbara Conrey is the USA Today Bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye and Award Winning My Secret to Keep. Barbara’s stories delve into the emotional drama of family dynamics and the choices made in the name of love.
Barbara is a long-standing Women’s Fiction Writers Association member and an administrator of the Facebook Group Bookish Road Trip, where she facilitates their monthly book club. Beagles are her passion. She proudly supports the Beagle Freedom Project, a volunteer organization that rescues Beagles and other animals from product testing facilities.
Barbara lives in Central Pennsylvania, close to family and friends, where she is impatiently awaiting the release of her third book, A Fine Layer of Dust, and scurrying to finish her fourth book.
You can find out more about Barbara and her books here: www.barbaraconreyauthor.com