Review: Vacancy
VACANCY: Secrets and Second Chances in Small Texas Town
By Jann Alexander
Women’s Fiction / Mystery and Crime
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Publication Date: September 24, 2026
SYNOPSIS
INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS
Helen is childless and widowed after a long marriage and gets a second chance with a long-lost love. But she’s grieving her hidden regrets. She bonds with her quiet kindergarten student and doubts the girl’s struggling single mother, Charlene, is fit to parent.
Charlene’s hiding a secret of her own, and she resents Helen’s interference. She’s determined to make a better life for her young daughter, the teenage boy her ex left behind, and the baby on the way when a scarred veteran offers to lend a hand.
A tragedy no one sees coming forces the two women to unite, as small-town bias threatens to destroy innocent lives. But first, Helen and Charlene must confront the vacancy in their hearts. As they do, can they find new strength, acceptance, and a second chance at love?
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Vacancy by Jann Alexander is the second book in The Dust Series and is a historical fiction novel with themes of family drama, mystery, and the process of healing. The story takes place in 2005 in Hartless, Texas and centers around two women whose lives cross after their personal tragedies.
Helen is a recently widowed kindergarten teacher in her 50s who is greiving her husband and having to think deeply about the circumstances of his death. Charlene is a struggling single mom trying to create a better life for her daughter, the baby she’s expecting, and the teen boy who was left behind in her care.
This story is deep with small town atmosphere and many complicated feelings. There is a lot of heartbreak in this story twisted with small town judgment and secrets. Ultimately, however, Vacancy showcases the strength of its characters by having them face the truths they are afraid to accept. As much as this story breaks you, it also focuses on healing and the opportunity to rebuild. And this is what gets me about this story because the women are at the center of it. So many of the complex feelings are directly because of the tragedies Helen and Charlene experience. My take away from Vacancy is the hopeful energy that I was left with when I finished the story. The belief that although we will endure some difficulties in our lives, we can endure and come out much stronger from it.
Vacancy is the second in a series, however, it can definitely be read on its own as it takes place during a completely different time from the first one (that one takes place during the Texas Dust Bowl). Alexander’s writing is accessible, emotional, and definitely character-focused, so I recommend picking up Unspoken (the first book) too. It was definitely a book I could not put down because I became invested in these characters’ lives.
One last think, Vacancy deals with feelings of bereavement, motherhood, anger, and forgiveness - so please proceed with caution if this particular mix of themes would do you more harm than good.
To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLVacancy on your preferred social media platform.
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