The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan

In Mill River, Vermont, everyone knows about the large house on the hill, but not about Mary McAllister, who has lived there for over seventy years. Mary has kept to herself, with her lifelong friendship with Father O'Brien to sustain her. Now dying of cancer, she has plans to make.... The reader also gets to meet more residents of Mill River: widower policeman Kyle Hansen and Rowen (his nine-year-old daughter), schoolteacher Claudia Simon, potion maker Daisy Delaine, and misguided cop Leroy Underwood. The Mill River Recluse recounts the daily lives of the residents and is a gentle read for those who like stories about small towns.