_________ Oceanside/island park ________
rate. Easy. Honest. Accu
HERALD
erty Save on your prop u sa taxes with Nas tax County’s trusted s. reduction expert
PROPERTY THE LEADER IN
Looking To Buy or Se
Call Gitelle!
Tr usted Results. Proven Success. Licensed Real Estate Sale
sperson
Free Home Evaluation
N TAX REDUCTIO
O 516-791-6100
Apply online at aldnote mptrg.com/her1266 Hablamos Español or call 516.715. uction Group, LLC perty Tax Red
Maidenbaum Pro
ll?
M 516-984-4933
VoL. 60 No. 37
SEPT. 11 - 17, 2025
gitelle@weissmanrealty.c om 123 Grove Ave. • Cedarh urst
$1.00
Local author set to debut fourth novel By KEPHERD DANIEL
kdaniel@liherald.com
Dina Ewashko/Herald
Students return to class with smiles Ella Neyer, Lily Latouche and Ava Guadagno, above, were excited about another year of academic and extracurricular achievements. At right, Scarlet and Michael Genovese lined up with their backpacks, ready for the first day of school at Oaks School No. 3. Story, more photos, Page 4.
Stephanie DeCarolis — the Oceanside author and lawyer, who early in her legal career worked with victims of abuse — has turned that experience into the engine behind her fourth novel, “The Wives of Hawthorne Lane,” which is due out Sept. 16. DeCarolis, 39, said her legal background, combined with her love of suspense fiction, drives the story. “This book was inspired by real women, and my experience working with them,” DeCarolis said. “Early in my legal career, I worked on an honorary basis as an advocate for victims of abuse.” While the book’s characters and the situations they find themselves in are entirely fictional, DeCarolis’s time spent working as an advocate shaped the subject matter and her approach. Published by Random House, at the book’s center are four neighbors on Hawthorne Lane whose picturesque lives hide fractures and secrets. There’s Georgina, known for her perfect cheesecakes and enviable home, with a guest list everyone hopes to make. Audrey is bold and beautiful, a fashion magazine
DeCarolis’ book events Book launch & signing: Sept. 19 at Insieme Wines, 3333 Lawson Blvd, Oceanside Author talk: Sept. 27 at Oceanside Library —Kepherd Daniel
editor unafraid to speak her mind — except when it comes to her marriage. Libby juggles teenagers, a business and a soon-to-be ex-husband, determined to push her over the edge. And then there’s Hannah, a doeeyed newlywed and children’s librarian, as wholesome as they come. “You know from the first page that someone doesn’t make it to the end of the fall festival, but you don’t know who’s killed or why,” DeCarolis said. After that jolt, the book rewinds three months and follows each woman’s story as the reader pieces together motive and opportunity. That structure — a shocking Continued on page 13