The Peach Keeper

A Novel

By: Sarah Addison Allen

Narrated by: Karen White

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.

Critic reviews

Praise for The Peach Keeper

Allen juggles smalltown history and mystical thriller, character development and eerie magical realism in a fine Southern gothic drama. The underlying tension will please and unnerve readers, as well as leave them eager for Allen's next.
-Publisher's Weekly


Praise for Sarah Addison Allen’s The Girl Who Chased the Moon

“Captivating . . . Sarah Addison Allen produces tantalizing fiction.”—The Roanoke Times

“A dusting of magic, the aroma of sugary cakes swirling through the breeze, and a girl who unwittingly brings change to a town of misfits make for a sweet summer story filled with hope and forgiveness.”—Beth Hoffman, author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Charming and entertaining . . . Don’t miss this spellbinding tale.”—Asheville Citizen Times

“Allen clearly knows that all the fun is in the journey. . . . Sit back, open this book and join her.”—Greensboro News & Record

“An enjoyable read [with] doses of magical realism and romance.”—Associated Press

“Easy to devour in one sitting.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Love it

I don't know why everyone is hating on the narrator, I think she read the book in the most appropriate way. I adore this story and its beautiful message about friendship and supporting fellow women.

Worth the read

Not my favorite of her stories but still worth the read. The narrator had a slightly awkward way of reading which made it a bit uncomfortable.

Just a fan

I just love all of her books. It feels like the romance version of action adventure. There are twists, and turns, and secrets, intertwined with historical intrigue. And the whole time I find myself rooting for love.

That’s it?

Cute book at first, but I was left with the strong sense that the book was not developed well and completely lacked a true climatic point. Maybe a sequel takes it further, but it feels sorely lacking and I am so underwhelmed that I don’t even want to read the others.

Enchanting

Sarah is by far my favorite author, and none of her books disappoint! Karen White did an amazing job narrating, making my first audio book adventure a pleasure :)