The Peach Keeper: A Novel (Random House Reader’s

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