The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

I love a good old mystery.  Combined with historical, early 21st century-era backdrops where ladies were just starting the women's liberation movement, challenging the conventional views of their times; and you've got me hooked (sorry, I was never one for D-I-Ds -- Damsels in Distress.)

So while browsing through Amazon.com, I found this little tome by Sarah Addison Allen, hoping it would be just the thing to whet my appetite for the esoteric.

Sarah Addison Allen's The Peach Keeper

The Peach Keeper tells the story of Willa Jackson who was once part of their small little town of Walls of Water, North Carolina's wealthiest family.  She carries such a huge fascination about The Blue Ridge Madam, an imposing, elegant mansion built by her great-great-grandfather and which once served as the clan's abode til their financial problems and scandals forced the family to evacuate and live less-than-stellar lives.

Years later, Willa's former high school classmate and Walls of Water socialite, Paxton Osgood, begins renovations on the Madam in the hopes of converting it into a small hotel and historical landmark.  Trouble arises, though, when a skeleton is unearthed beneath the mansion's lone peach tree leaving the residents of Walls of Water baffled and opening up old rumors and speculations about the Jackson clan and the scandal that nearly destroyed their good name (read a more detailed summary here at Amazon.com.)

I am a huge fan of Kate Morton, of The House of Riverton and The Distant Hours fame.  Ever since religiously following her work, I could not help but compare her style of storytelling with that of other authors of the same genre (full review of her books to come in the future.)

I picked up The Peach Keeper in the hopes that it would enthrall me as much as any Kate Morton tome could.  But alas!  It was not meant to be as I found it to be a tad uhmmm... boring.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  There are good points, too.  I love the historical backflashes and the moments when Paxton's grandmother finally tells them the real story behind the skeleton.  But the other lines and fillers were something to be desired and left me feeling a little dissatisfied and disappointed. 

It's very light reading, something I was actually surprised to find.  Regardless of that, it still took me days before I finally was able to finish the book.  Not really much of a page turner as scenes are very predictable.

So for now, I'm holding on til the new Kate Morton book comes out this year.  October couldn't come soon enough.  *sigh*