The Peach Keeper: A Novel

by Sarah Addison Allen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “[Sarah Addison Allen] juggles small-town history and mystical thriller, character development and eerie magical realism in a fine Southern gothic drama.”—Publishers Weekly

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.

Praise for The Peach Keeper

“Secrets are ready to be uncovered. . . . Allen masterfully weaves a Southern world of believable characters and keeps readers flipping pages with this dreamy one-nighter.”—Southern Literary Review
 
“In this delectable, read-in-one-sitting treasure, Allen once again demonstrates her astonishing ability to believably blur the lines between the magical and the mundane.”—Booklist
 
“Peppered with Allen’s trademark Southern charm . . . a must-read for fans of Alice Hoffman.”—Library Journal
 
“Immensely readable . . . pulses with sensual details.”—The Denver Post

“Sarah Addison Allen writes the kind of books I love best: rich, magical, irresistible.”—New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips

• ISBN10: 0553385607
• ISBN13: 9780553385601
• Publish Date: 10 January 2012 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780553385601

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I've thoroughly enjoyed all the Sarah Addison Allen books I've read, but I stayed away from this one for a long time because, frankly, I don't like peaches*.       As reasons go to not read a book, it's a pretty stupid one, so when I saw the title at a library sale for $1 I did the mature thing and bought it.     I LOVED this book!  It was SO good.  It had shades of Practical Magic in it, and a cameo by Claire Waverly from Garden Spells and a small but very important murder mystery.  The only thing it needed to make it perfect was Claire's apple tree.   The Peach Keeper felt like Allen crossed from Magical Realism into straight magic; there aren't a lot of logical reasons (or any) for why the strange events in Walls of Water were happening.  The character development felt a lot richer too; limiting the plot to only 4 people, and really focusing on the 2 female protagonists made it feel like a much tighter story.  The romantic tension was intense (although the sex scenes were almost non-existent).   Is this Pride and Prejudice good?  No, of course not (nothing is that good), but it is Practical Magic (the movie, not the book) good.  If you liked that movie, or you enjoy good stories about the power of friendship, I think you'll enjoy this.   * It's a tactile thing; peach fuzz = fingernails on a chalkboard.

[Joséphine]

This was such a dull book. Since I didn't hate it though, I'm going with 2 stars.

The Peach Keeper was predictable, containing the expected Southern "unsolved" murder twist and "doomed" romance that eventually works out anyway. The characters weren't particularly memorable and the events mostly plodded along with little excitement. One point of contention I did have was the flippant representation of a gay character. He ended up with his best friend of a woman because he wasn't actually gay. There was a lot of fallback on their high school years too, even though at 30-ish years old, they could've had more recent memories that bound their relationships.

It also took a lot of time to get used to the narrator. At first she sounded like she was constantly out of breath. That made me feel rather out of sorts but I ploughed on because I was looking for an audiobook to accompany me on errands.

[Leah]

Sarah Addison Allen is an author that delivers every. single. time. Although, I will admit, I only have that experience from one of SAA’s books; at least I did until I read The Peach Keeper. I’ve now read 2 of her 4 novels (The Girl Who Chased The Moon being the other one) and she just delivers with every novel. Her blend of love stories, magic, friendships and ties to the past seems to create novels you just can’t (and don’t want to) put down. I always feel a bit as if I don’t deserve to review her books, because her books are just so good that I don’t feel I can do the book justice, almost as if I’m in awe. Of the book, of Sarah, of writing a review that will make you want to pick up the book.

The Peach Keeper is a novel about the Osgood family and the Jackson family, two families who long ago in the past were intwined, whose histories connected. However, in the present day the two families are no longer connected and haven’t been for years. Now, Willa Jackson and Paxton Osgood do their level best to not come into contact with each other. Willa spends her days in the store she owns, whereas Paxton is busy planning a gala for the 75th Anniversary Women’s Society Club and plans to host it at the newly refurbished Blue Ridge Madam, and she wants Willa to come. Willa doesn’t want to, but when a long-buried secret is unveiled and the two women find themselves forging an unlikely friendship, they both begin to wonder just why they’d never bothered to be in contact with each other before…

I just loved The Peach Keeper and if I could end my review on that note, I’d be happy to. After being wowed by The Girl Who Chased The Moon earlier this year I wasn’t entirely sure Allen could pull it off again, wasn’t sure she’d be able to hook me the same way she did the first time around, but now I wonder why I was worried? The three days it took me to read this book were like being on the best rollercoaster ride ever. It had everything I wanted from the book and yet again Allen has knocked my socks off. I liked the energy of the novel, I was fascinated by the characters, I thought the romance was edge-of-your-seat stuff; I knew who I wanted Willa and Paxton to be with and I delighted in the sparks created and the whole thing just made me smile. The novel does have a bit of a serious edge – with the secret that’s uncovered but that just provides yet another branch to the tree, just another delight to read about, even if it isn’t exactly a happy branch.

It’s such a charming read and Allen is such a charming author. I raced through the book, I was desperate – so, so desperate – to see how these characters lives would pan out, I was rooting desperately for Willa and Paxton and I totally fell for Colin and Sebastian. The budding friendship between Willia and Paxton was delightful; the way Willa’s assitant at her store, Rachel, was a coffeeologist was brilliant; but the writing – oh, the writing! – was simply delightful. Sarah Addison Allen is a magician with words. She manages to make it all sound just so good. So charming, so warm, so heartfelt. In a time where I find novels to be more predictable by the day, Sarah Addison Allen with The Peach Keeper and with The Girl Who Chased The Moon has given me two utterly charming, but two utterly different to each other and anything else novels. Both are of a high standard and I was so enamoured with The Peach Keeper, so enamoured I read it as quickly as I could. The setting, the writing, the characters, the old superstitions of Willa’s grandmother, Georgie, the forthrightness of Paxton’s grandmother, Agatha, and then, of course, there’s the Sarah Addison Allen magic she puts into every novel, it’s just one big delight. You have to read it to believe it and kudos for Sarah Addison Allen for hooking me again and providing me with yet another book to call a favourite.

[ladygrey]

I think [a:Sarah Addison Allen|566874|Sarah Addison Allen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372537232p2/566874.jpg] and I would be great friends because I fall for all the guys in her books.

This one, admittedly, had less of a sense of the magical to it. Or perhaps that sense was just more intangible. I missed the feeling that emotions have substance to them and the energies between people or between people and the world have manifestations. I wanted more with Rachel and her coffee and I liked the role that scent played, I just wanted a little more magic overall.

But the characters were really fun and engaging - Allen's characters always are. I liked watching them evolve and have these revelations about themselves and each other and the way they related to one another. I liked the story and the way it unfolded, the sense of mystery and how they changed the character's world.

You just can't go wrong when reading [a:Sarah Addison Allen|566874|Sarah Addison Allen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1372537232p2/566874.jpg].

[kimbacaffeinate]

i simply love all of allen's stories..keep um coming!!