Introducing……Hephzibah Brown.

“Andi was drawn to the owner of the cafe, a tall angular woman who seemed comfortable in her own skin. Hephzibah appeared to know everyone and everything that was going on in Coffin Cove. None of her gossip was malicious, and Andi recognized a golden resource of information when she saw one.“

Hephzibah Brown is one of my favourite characters.  My poor confused, flawed heroine, Andi Silvers needed a friend, someone who could bring her down to earth and dispense judgement free- wisdom with coffee and cake. Hephzibah Brown is the lady for the job.

Hephzibah had a strange childhood. She was raised in a commune of women on an Island off the east coast of Coffin Cove. Her mother, Greta,  left her drunk and abusive husband, Ed Brown, taking her baby daughter Hephzibah.  Back then, in the 1970’s, women had few options and almost no financial independence, especially in the isolated fishing town of Coffin Cove. The commune was a place of safety.

Hephzibah has a unique perspective on the world. She is upbeat, a child of nature, loves her garden and cooking. 

Hephzibah has an almost unrivalled knowledge of local gossip, but whereas other members of the community are a little mean-spirited, Hephzibah is unfailingly kind.  Her name, translated from Hebrew means literally “my delight is in her” and Hephzibah Brown lives up to the name.

She makes her cafe one of the focal points of the town. People gather there to find out what’s going on and have one of her famous Morning Glory muffins.

She is not without her secrets, and some of those might get her into trouble. 

Hephzibah is featured as a minor character in the first two Coffin Cove books You will meet her again in “Hope Island” the third in the series, and she’s updating the café with new branding – see the new mugs above! . I love Hephzibah so much, she is sure to be a major character as the series develops.