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    The Peach Keeper: A Novel
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    The Peach Keeper: A Novel
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    The Peach Keeper: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Peach Keeper: A Novel

    Written by Sarah Addison Allen

    Narrated by Karen White

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town's famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

    It's the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam-built by Willa's great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water's heyday, and once the town's grandest home-has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

    But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate-socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood-of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property's lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

    For the bones-those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago-are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.

    Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families-and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

    Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that-in good times and bad, from one generation to the next-endure forever.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 22, 2011
    ISBN9780739368718
    Unavailable
    The Peach Keeper: A Novel
    Author

    Sarah Addison Allen

    Sarah Addison Allen lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where she is at work on her next novel.

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    Reviews for The Peach Keeper

    4/5

    983 ratings163 reviews

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    • 4/5
      So I love Sarah Addison Allen, don't get me wrong. I love her skillful, subtle weaving of magical realism through lovely small-town tales of love and loss. She follows in the footsteps of Alice Hoffman in the best possible way.

      That said, her last two books have seemed very short to me. Not unfinished, exactly -- there aren't any plot points left unexplained, or anything like that. It's just that I don't get the same labor-of-love feeling from this that I did from her first book. I suspect, although I haven't done the research to back it up, that her first book took her much longer to write than the last two. And so some of the intricacy and detail is missing. I was trying to think of concrete examples, and here's one that came to me: for all the zillion times we're told how androgynously beautiful Sebastian is, I don't have a clear picture of him in my mind. I don't remember what color his hair is, or his eyes, or any idea of how his face is put together. I think maybe, if someone spent a couple of years lovely slaving away at this book, that those are the kinds of details that can't help but find their way into the pages. Maybe she wrote this so quickly that his facial features aren't clear to her either?

      Anyway, these are tiny nitpicks against what is a lovely and thoroughly enjoyable book. I don't mean to dissuade anyone from picking it up, but make sure you pack a couple of other books if you're going on vacation, because this one might not last you more than a day -- it didn't for me.
    • 3/5
      Just an average story. The paranormal aspect could have been boosted to prevent the plot from falling flat. The only memorable character was Nana Osgood. The other characters, who were in their 30s, should have been more developed and mature. They acted like whiny teenagers.
    • 3/5
      ? ? ? 1/2

      First: This is the 4th book I've read by Allen and it is not the best, it is not the second best.....

      Second: It was filled with "Magical Realism", but you have to be in tune with subtleties & nuances to notice most of them.

      Third: This smacks of Chick-Lit & Romance and yes I would have preferred more to the mystery.

      Fourth: This was predictable and a bit towards the shallow side. Yes, it needed more of the story...and the characters could have definitely been better developed.

      Fifth: I was prepared to Hate it, because I normally take Coyote's reviews to heart (even when I'm not remotely interested in reading her choices myself)....but I didn't. I liked it for what it was....and since I had absolutely no expectations of it being as good as her other books, I wasn't disappointed and happily surprised.

      Sixth: as for Colin being "Orgasmic" while overseeing the planting of the ancient oak tree... I Got It!
    • 4/5
      Missed the magic of her other books (even tho Claire Waverly makes a cameo catering) but still enjoyed the read. 4 old classmates reunite and find themselves (and each other) when skeletons are unearthed and memories shared. Allen's books are always like visiting good friends. Relaxing, warming and needed.
    • 4/5
      This was a very nice story about friendship in a southern way.
    • 2/5
      This was a quick read and fairly engaging. The supernatural was woven in nicely, but got to be a bit much toward the end. All in all, it was a good beach read or to take on an airplane.
    • 5/5
      No one does magical realism wrapped in a comfort read like Sarah Addison Allen. I will read anything she writes, own it, gift it, do the dance, listen to the audiobook. Yes, I am an unapologetic fangirl. She just hits it out of the park every time. The Peach Keeper is at the top of my list, but I'd never pick a favorite. Willa Jackson has a family with history, just not the right kind of history, and in a small southern town in North Carolina for many you simply are who your people were, and people don't forget. Willa has moved on, or so she says, opened a lovely little store in town, lives a quiet life. Willa's past and present collides when a high school classmate contacts her to participate in the grand reopening of a historic home that once belonged to Willa's family and was subsequently lost in shame and scandal. Things aren't always as they seem, and even after a lifetime or two secrets have a way of becoming unearthed. Told with wit, charm, and a style so totally unique to SAA The Peach Keeper is a total delight. Highly recommended, 5+ stars!
    • 4/5
      Fun Summer Read
    • 4/5
      not to heavy, not to light, and always a little magic
    • 4/5
      This was a neat surprise! I'm a huge fan of Allen's work and I especially enjoy the magical realism genre, but this novel blended a few of my favorite genres together to create one fantastic afternoon of reading! I loved the small town setting. It was filled with realistic characters that were as colorful and complex as their relationships. I was glad to see that the friendships weren't from a fairy tale. They were like our own, experiencing the same "ups and downs" that life can create between family and friends. I thought the mystery was a little predictable, but the way Allen presents the story I was too entertained and enamored by the characters (as well as their secrets) to really care. The magical elements were amazing and we even had a ghost thrown in for good measure! The Peach Keeper was impossible to put down and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's running a close second to my favorite, the author's novel Garden Secrets! This is a must read for Sarah Addison Allen fans.
    • 4/5
      As in her previous books, the touch of magical realism adds interest to this novel set in North Carolina. Family secrets work both to bring together and break apart families and friendships as the most prominent families in the town work to restore a stately old mansion to its original glory.
    • 5/5
      I truly love Sarah Addison Allen stories. She draws you in and wraps you in a world you never want to leave.
    • 4/5
      Love all her stories, always look forward to the little whiffs of magical realism. Her books are like dessert.
    • 5/5
      Wow. Just. Wow. This is a book about becoming who you are and the true meaning of friendship. And it's beautifully done. I finished it and immediately wanted to start it over again. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I loved "Garden Spells" spells and "The Sugar Queen". This one didn't live up to that standard for me.
    • 4/5
      Even with its requisite love story, at its core The Peach Keeper is a story of friendship. Willa Jackson, once known as the resident prankster in her youth, returned to her childhood home of small-town Walls of Water following the death of her father nearly ten years prior and has never left. As the only remaining descendent of a formerly elite Southern family but for an elderly grandmother with dementia, Willa has no interest in being involved in the restoration of her ancestors' once grand home by Paxton Osgood, socialite and former classmate. However, the discovery of a skeleton buried beneath the peach tree in the mansion's front lawn has Willa and Paxton drawn deeply into a gothic mystery and facing dark secrets from their families' pasts. An eerie, magical novel not without the charm and romance expected of Sarah Addison Allen.
    • 3/5
      Not terrible, but not as good as her others. There is something missing in Allen's Peach Keeper novel....some kind of spark, or something. It wasn't the audiobook version's fault, either; I didn't think Karen White was the perfect narrator for this novel, she also lacked a certain "magic". I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe Allen will get her spark back, in another, later novel.....we can only hope.
      3 stars, for barely keeping my interest, even with a murder involved.
    • 4/5
      This book was an enjoyable combination of romance, mystery, and character. The characters are well drawn and likable. The mystery's primary purpose is bringing the characters together and moving them forward, not keeping readers on the edges of our seats. The romance was enough to make for a satisfying ending, but it was never predictable enough to know how it would turn out for all four main characters. I'm not a big reader of supernatural stories, but this one pulled off its magical elements well...just enough to give atmosphere, where all of it could almost be read as superstitions of the characters, but not enough to be off-putting to readers who aren't drawn to magic and ghosts. The setting in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina is fascinating and compelling and helps give this novel a feel I haven't found elsewhere. All in all, it is an easy, enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars. I'm a sucker for a love story like this. And it goes right along with my current obsession of walking the shelves of my local library branch, peeping for the "NC" on the spine.
    • 5/5
      In the town of Walls of Water everyone has secrets, some more elicit and passionate than others, but a few stray to the other end of the spectrum...deadly. When Willa returned to establish a life in Walls of Water after her father's death it was never in the hopes that she would rekindle old friendships and possibly even old mischief, but it nonetheless finds her in the form of a familiar face, Collin Osgood. For Paxton, the opposite is the case, her desire to cement herself in the town has become an obstacle that could cost her the love of her life and possibly an opportunity to discover who she is. With each striving to lose themselves they quickly learn it could take a trip into the ancient pasts of their grandmothers, Georgie and Agatha, to truly learn what it means to have lasting love and friendships.Check out the rest of my review at Chick Lit Reviews!
    • 5/5
      Ms. Allen's books almost always consist of two women's lives and magic is always included. This book was no exception. It was fun, sweet, and magical.
    • 2/5
      I didn't finish reading this book. It looked interesting but after reading quite a few pages, I found the writing to be getting in the way of the story. It wasn't good. Maybe the story is OK, but I couldn't get past the writing and didn't wish to spend more time on it.
    • 5/5
      I just finished the book and I really loved it. I enjoyed every bit of it, the pace, the language, the feeling of the place and characters. As always Sarah enters my heart and stays. The Story is filled with mystery and passion for love and food. The original story is set 75 years ago from our day, it is about two best friends and how much they loved each other. The story is about a guy who was as hot as the devil and smelled as sweet as peaches, but was a con man. The story in our day is about a Princess (Paxton), a Freak (Sebastian), a Stick Man (Colin) and a Joker (Willa). And I was really happy to see Claire and Bay from Garden Spells pass in this book.
    • 5/5
      I could not put this book down! So far, I have loved every book I've read by Sarah Addison Allen, and want to read all of her works. I love the realness of the characters (like when Willa hides from Colin in the sporting goods store and he finds her), the relationships (like the typical inequality of mothers between sons - Colin - and daughters - Paxton, the magical elements woven with the slightest glint throughout the story, the reference to another book's characters, the contrast in grandmothers... I loved it all - start to finish. A new favorite!
    • 3/5
      Read this for the library Mystery Book Club. Nice enjoyable read after reading some heavier fiction and non-fiction reads. Southern fiction steeped in family secrets that come to a head after a skeleton is unearthed during a renovation project.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the first half of this and could hardly put it down, but somehow the second half became predictable and it seemed to end rather suddenly. However, it was good enough it makes me want to read some of the author's previous books.
    • 3/5
      I had read Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and enjoyed it so much that I was anxious to read The Peach Keeper. This author has a certain magic in her writing and is able to include so many aspects in her novels. The Peach Keeper was dark at times with murder, rape and secrets, but had plenty of southern charm along with romance, friendship, and family relationships.Who wouldn't like a southern town with a wonderful name like Walls of Water? Different classes of people interact and that made for a quick, interesting read. There was the merging of various personalities to keep the story moving along. And I must mention the strong supporting characters that added immensely to the novel.I give it a rating of 3.5 stars and a strong recommendation.
    • 4/5
      Again, Allen's magical elements and unique characters keep me coming back for more!
    • 4/5
      Easy, quick read. A story about people finding out who they really are.
    • 2/5
      Not my favorite of Sarah Addison Allen's books, but it was an enjoyable quick read. I enjoyed getting to know the characters but also felt like they weren't developed enough. Also this book lacked the greater elements of magic and such that I expect from her. It was missed here. Good book though anyway.