Wait for Me

By Amy Jo Burns

From the author of Mercury and Shiner comes a novel about the bond between two female folk singers, the love stories that haunt them, and the music that brings them together to burn bright.

Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.

Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle's past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.

Wait for Me exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250399300
• ISBN13: 9781250399304
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Celadon Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Beautifully written novel

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted. This was a beautifully written novel about strong women, music, romance, betrayals, second chances, and forgiveness. What stood out for me more than anything was the exceptional writing – so many sentences could have been song lyrics or song titles. The poetic phrasing, the emotional observations, the evocative descriptions – as expressive as the work of award-winning songwriters Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon. This is a story with two timelines, two romances, and two women searching for someone missing, while living with the pain of being left behind. This was my first novel by Amy Jo Burns, but now I will be looking for her two earlier ones.