Format: Audio; 6 CDs (76 min. each)
Narrator: Karen White
Publisher: Bantam/Books On Tape
Released: March 22, 2011
Source: Borrowed from the library

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 and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite Paxton Osgood—has restored the house to its former glory, with plans to turn it into a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, long-kept secrets come to light, accompanied by a spate of strange occurrences throughout the town. Thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the passions and betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover the truths that have transcended time to touch the hearts of the living.

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THE PEACH KEEPER was an “impulse borrow” from the library, and I ended up loving it! It was a captivating story about the power of friendship, with a touch of mystery and magical realism mixed in. (A little romance, too.)

Not only is this book about friendship, it’s about unlikely friendships and how they can change everything, especially when pasts are entwined by dark secrets.

Sarah Addison Allen is a darn good storyteller, and I can’t wait to read everything else she’s written. I was sad during the last few chapters of this book because I didn’t want the story to end! I got pretty attached to the characters and didn’t want to leave them behind. *sigh*

I listened to the audio version of this book, narrated by Karen White, and I was very pleased. Her pacing was good, and the inflection in her speech held my attention. I think she nailed the characters’ voices, particularly Paxton and her grandmother Agatha. I can’t imagine them sounding any other way!

Rating: 4¼ Stars