As the owner of the upscale children’s boutique Pretty Baby, Eleanor Sweet is surrounded by gleaming strollers, organic cotton onesies and round-bellied expectant mothers. It’s a serene atmosphere of new beginnings but for the sounds of punk and funk coming from the graffiti-splattered new record shop next door and Eleanor’s fierce desire for a baby of her own. Her wish for a child is finally granted in the form of Lily, an abandoned baby en route from Korea. But Eleanor’s husband unexpectedly backs out, and the adoption is at risk.

Orphaned as a young woman herself and determined to give Lily the family she deserves, Eleanor hires Isabelle, a search angel, to find her own birth mother. What Eleanor discovers about love and family isn’t what she expects but gives a new understanding of what it means to be a mother.

Praise for The Search Angel

“In The Search Angel, Tish Cohen explores how the things one desires most are often linked inextricably to our pasts. Eleanor Sweet’s pursuit of adoption and the search for her own birth parents is told with compassion, humour, and intelligence—all the ingredients you look for in the best of books.” – Catherine McKenzie, author of Hidden

“The Search Angel is not only beautifully written and populated with achingly real characters, it also strikes a delicate balance between incisive humour and the sadness and joy that are the inevitable by-product of love.” – Susan Juby, author of The Woefield Poultry Collective

“The Search Angel is a page-turner. I could not put it down, and those are the only clichés you will read with regards to this book. Eleanor, an adoptee in the process of getting her own child, a feisty "search angel" who helps find Eleanor find her birth mother and a depressed Great Dane are just some of the rich characters that you will be glad you invited into your home. A funny, sad, touching and original story that shouldn't be missed. Why are you wasting time reading this blurb? Read The Search Angel. You'll be glad you did.” – Colin Mochrie, actor and comedian

“Move over Jodi Picoult” — The Globe and Mail