The Bellman's Secret

The story of Heidi Barnes’ debut novel The Bellman continues the adventures of Stan Douglas, a teenager who left home in the late 1980s to find his fortune and ended up working in the historic, stately Maycliff Inn on the picturesque Maine Coast. The Bellman’s Secret is a mad romp through coming of age, workplace hijinks, and the joy and pain of being young and in love.

Unschooled in relationships and naïve about girls, Stan is caught up in trying to pursue his first love, Mindy, whose love/hate/indifferent behavior baffles him while simultaneously juggling the quirky needs of the revolving string of eccentric Inn guests. Whenever Stan makes progress in his career and love life, some misfortune befalls him, always with an inconvenient witness―his boss.

Dealing with poisoned guests, mysteriously disappearing beets, mating fish that keep everyone up all night, an underwater Porsche, and a muscular rival for his girl’s affection, Stan must manage to keep his cool without losing his job.