Forgiven

by Gil Merrick

Forgiven picks up where Come September leaves off—in the wealthy suburbs of Detroit, as newlyweds Kip Reynolds and Claudia Kinzler struggle to accept Kip’s infertility and the prospect of a childless future. While Kip wrestles with a stalled career, unresolved guilt over the murder of two friends in Hong Kong, and the unraveling of his father’s life, Claudia’s mother, Sophia Serrano, is summoned back to her hometown in Barcelona to uncover a secret buried for more than half a She was stolen at birth during Franco-era Spain—one of countless children taken from their mothers and sold for adoption by the Catholic Church. Kip and Claudia join Sophia in Spain and unknowingly put their lives at risk as they embark on a perilous journey to find her birth parents and do battle with an evil priest intent on making them—and the scandal he helped perpetrate—disappear forever.

Layered with emotional intensity, Forgiven follows its characters from Detroit, Palm Beach, and Manhattan to Barcelona and the villages of Catalonia as their families confront hidden histories, impossible choices, and the lingering consequences of reprehensible acts. The story explores the devastating costs of betrayal and the fragile hope of reconciliation, showing how even the deepest wounds may one day be named, understood, and healed through forgiveness.

380 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2026

About the author

Born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Gil Merrick attended Hiram College, earning a BA in International Finance and German. Upon completing his MBA at Cleveland State University, he began a forty-year career managing companies throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

An avid horseman with credits as Team Leader for the U.S. Equestrian Federation at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2008 Olympic Games, he now devotes himself full-time to writing in South Florida.