Handle with Care

A Novel

By Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Price: $18.99

On Sale: 4/14/2026

Handle with Care Book Cover Enlarge Book Cover

Handle with Care

A Novel

By Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Price: $18.99

On Sale: 4/14/2026

About the Book

Three women walk into a post office. This is no joke–it’s the spark that ignites a life-altering hostage crisis.

On a quiet spring afternoon, an ordinary small-town post office becomes ground zero for a domestic dispute. A husband draws a weapon and seals the doors, holding four hostages captive: his terrified wife, a young woman searching for meaning amid uncertainty, a mother on the brink of letting go as her only daughter graduates, and an elderly woman concealing a secret that could shatter everything she knows.

Outside, the negotiator works to keep a fragile peace, forced to confront her own baggage as every word becomes a lifeline.

Each of the three women who walked into the post office is carrying something that, if mailed, would profoundly change her life. As minutes become hours in this daylong siege, these strangers forge lasting bonds.

Handle with Care shines a light on hope found even in the darkest moments, and illuminates how even strangers, thrown together by chance and hardship, have the power to change each other’s lives.

Product Details

ISBN: 9781400345052
Imprint: Thomas Nelson Fiction
On Sale: Apr 14, 2026
List price: $18.99
No of pages: 384
Trim Size: 1.000 in (w) x 1.000 in (h) x 1.000 in (d)
BISAC 1: FICTION / Literary
BISAC 2: FICTION / Small Town & Rural *
BISAC 3: FICTION / Southern

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Biography

Marybeth Whalen is the author of Every Moment Since and nine previous novels. Marybeth received a BA degree in English with a concentration in Writing and Editing from NC State University a long time ago and has been writing ever since. She is the co-founder of The Book Tide, an online community of readers where “a rising tide raises all books.” Marybeth and her husband Curt are the parents of six children, with only one left at home. A native of Charlotte, NC, Marybeth now calls Sunset Beach, NC home. Visit her online at: www.marybethwhalen.com; Instagram: @marybethwhalen; Facebook: @marybethwhalen

About the Book

Three women walk into a post office. This is no joke–it’s the spark that ignites a life-altering hostage crisis.

On a quiet spring afternoon, an ordinary small-town post office becomes ground zero for a domestic dispute. A husband draws a weapon and seals the doors, holding four hostages captive: his terrified wife, a young woman searching for meaning amid uncertainty, a mother on the brink of letting go as her only daughter graduates, and an elderly woman concealing a secret that could shatter everything she knows.

Outside, the negotiator works to keep a fragile peace, forced to confront her own baggage as every word becomes a lifeline.

Each of the three women who walked into the post office is carrying something that, if mailed, would profoundly change her life. As minutes become hours in this daylong siege, these strangers forge lasting bonds.

Handle with Care shines a light on hope found even in the darkest moments, and illuminates how even strangers, thrown together by chance and hardship, have the power to change each other’s lives.

Product Details

ISBN: 9781400345052
Imprint: Thomas Nelson Fiction
On Sale: Apr 14, 2026
List price: $18.99
No of pages: 384
Trim Size: 1.000 in (w) x 1.000 in (h) x 1.000 in (d)
BISAC 1: FICTION / Literary
BISAC 2: FICTION / Small Town & Rural *
BISAC 3: FICTION / Southern

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

Biography

Marybeth Whalen is the author of Every Moment Since and nine previous novels. Marybeth received a BA degree in English with a concentration in Writing and Editing from NC State University a long time ago and has been writing ever since. She is the co-founder of The Book Tide, an online community of readers where “a rising tide raises all books.” Marybeth and her husband Curt are the parents of six children, with only one left at home. A native of Charlotte, NC, Marybeth now calls Sunset Beach, NC home. Visit her online at: www.marybethwhalen.com; Instagram: @marybethwhalen; Facebook: @marybethwhalen

About the Author

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Marybeth Whalen is the author of Every Moment Since and nine previous novels. Marybeth received a BA degree in English with a concentration in Writing and Editing from NC State University a long time ago and has been writing ever since. She is the co-founder of The Book Tide, an online community of readers where “a rising tide raises all books.” Marybeth and her husband Curt are the parents of six children, with only one left at home. A native of Charlotte, NC, Marybeth now calls Sunset Beach, NC home. Visit her online at: www.marybethwhalen.com; Instagram: @marybethwhalen; Facebook: @marybethwhalen
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