The Night the Lights Went Out

Karen White’s new book The Night the Lights Went Out ranks at the top of my list of books I have read in 2017. It is a must read for those who loves Southern fiction or truly anyone who loves a great read. In this book, she creates the perfect combination of wonderful characters, a highly entertaining story line and an interesting method for unfurling the plot developments. Merilee Dunlap is recently divorced and rents a cottage in Sweet Apple, Georgia from Sugar Prescott, the sourpuss grand dame of Sweet Apple. Poor Merilee is overwhelmed with her job, her kids, and moving to a new town. As Merilee and Sugar slowly get to know each other, various secrets emerge, and events that none of them foresee begin to unfold.

While I loved show more every aspect of the book, my favorite part was the way White chose to tell the story. The book alternates between a mixture of a clever blog written by the anonymous “Your Neighbor”, a standard present day story line, and a narration by 93-year-old Sugar Prescott of various events from her early life. This synthesis of storytelling techniques produces a unique reading experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. Frequently when various time periods are used in a novel, I will like one story line much better than the other, but here I loved every aspect of the book and couldn’t wait for each new development.

White’s characters are well-crafted and very authentic. While I was partial to a variety of the characters, Sugar Prescott is a clear stand out who I have thought about so many times since I finished The Night the Lights Went Out. She is a true literary gem.

I highly, highly recommend this book and cannot wait to hear everyone else rave about it as much as I have been to everyone I know. Thanks to Great Thoughts, Great Readers for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
KAREN WHITE

MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER Berkley/Penguin Audio
PUBLISHED April 11, 2017

A fabulously sparkling southern book about new and unexpected friendships and the keeping of secrets.

SUMMARY
Karen White tells a story of friendships that develops between three intriguing women when Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves to Sweet Apple, Georgia, not far from Atlanta. Merilee has just divorced her husband of eleven years after discovering he not only was having an affair with, but had also gotten their daughter's third grade math teacher pregnant. Devastated, Marilee and her two children, Lily age 10, and Colin age 8, give up their house, furniture and Mercedes SUV to begin a new life.

The first show more person Merrilee meets in Sweet Apple is the long-time widow Sugar Prescott who greets the trio at her farmhouse with a batch of chocolate chip cookies. They had sugar on sell at Kroger, she says. Sugar is the town's 93 year old matriarch, her family had at one time owned much of the property in the county, before her older brothers had chosen to sell it off. Sugar has agreed to rent Merrilee the old cottage behind her farmhouse. Having heard about Marilee's divorce from a realtor, Sugar suspected that Merilee was suddenly and unexpected on her own and in need of help. She understood that need. Sugar is quick to disapprove of Merilee serving her children pizza, and even more appalled to find out that Merilee can't cook. Sugar takes it upon herself to give Merilee cooking lessons. Merilee and Sugar form a strong bond as they share stories, and ultimately the secrets from their past.

Merilee meets Heather Blackford the first day of school at Winwood Acadamy. Heather is the epitome of southern perfection: rich, blond, glowy, dressed in tennis whites, and driving a Porsche SUV with a trunk full of gift bags for all the kids on their first day of school. She is just to much. She is the class mother and heads up the school upcoming Gala. While there is no love lost between Heather and Sugar, Heather takes a shine to Merilee and just demands that she chair the fundraising auction at the gala.

The gala is held at Heather's beautiful mansion on Lake Lanier. It's a huge success and everyone is dress to the nines. At the end of the evening Merilee discovers a body floating in the lake. Several days later, Merilee is brought into the police station as a suspect for the murder.

"You only need one really good friend to get you through the hard stuff."

Humor, southern charm and wisdom are being dispensed to the Sweet Apple, Georgia community in the form of a new blog titled "The Playing Fields: Observations of Suburban Life in Sweet Apple, Georgia..." which is tagged as "Your Neighbor." Sweet Apple folks are abuzz wondering who this anonymous blogger could possibly be and how do they know so much.

REVIEW
This was my first book by the best selling author, Karen White, and l was so impressed by the depth of her character development and the breadth of the story she tells. This story was both immediately engaging and entertaining. Can't wait to read more Karen White books! Thanks to my friend, Marion Hoffman for the recommendation!

The overall story alternates between Merilee and Sugar. Sugar's portion of the story occasional jumps from the 2016 to the 1930's and 1940''s for Sugar's backstory. These transitions and jumps in the book are effortless for the reader.

I absolutely loved the inclusion of the "The Playing Fields" blog. The posts are creatively interspersed throughout the book and add much humor and levity. And while White keeps the the Sweet Apple community in the dark about the identity of the blogger, you will know who it is at the end, if not before!

And what's not love about Sugar Prescott. She is by far my favorite character in the whole book. She reminds me so much of my grandmother, Mamie, who was born and raised in Magee, Mississippi. Everyone in town knew Mamie. She was always baking something wonderful. Mamie cooked lunch for the Lion Club every Wednesday for 30 years and she made the best fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, and sweet pickles ever! And she was not shy about telling people what she thought, just like Sugar.

The Night The Light Went Out has so many intertwining stories that the book is definitely not boring. There are friends to meet, stories to uncover, secrets to share and mysteries to solve. Throw in a romance, a tornado and the lights going out and this book is just down right great!

Favorite Quotes:
"Life shouldn't be an unbroken road of wonderful. It's the curves in the road that build character and show us our mettle."

"Life's journey doesn't mean much without friends."

"Every path has its puddles, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't travel them. We just need to remember to wear our boots and bring our friends and those who love us." show less

The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen White Is a 2017 Berkley publication.

Karen White reigns supreme when it comes to modern day southern fried storytelling. I love Karen White’s novels, so it’s fair to say I’m a little biased when it comes to her books, but this one is really special.

Marilee and her two children are uprooted from their lives after her husband, Michael cheats on her with their child's third grade teacher.

Moving to Sweet Apple, Georgia, Marilee rents a cottage from a gruff elderly woman everyone calls ‘Sugar’.

As Marilee gets settled in, she meets the other mothers in town, forges friendships, and may even have a love interest. But, one of the most important relationships she cultivates is with Sugar, as show more the two women begin sharing a type of quid pro quo confession of their painful past and sins, while unearthing a few old mysteries and solving a crime along the way.

There are books I enjoy, books that touch me or move me, books that make me laugh, or keep me on the edge of my seat. Some books combine all those elements, like this one did, but few of them hit all the notes with perfect tone and pitch and harmonizing, quite like this book did. I haven’t read a book like this one in a long time and I really, really, really needed this kind of story.

While books often focus on marriages, romance, and relationships within the family, allowing friendship bonds to lurk around the surface, this book places friendship front and center, and teaches a few valuable life lessons in the process.

We all have regrets, have all made mistakes, suffered painful losses, some more than others, and confession can be good for the soul. This is something Sugar discovered, albeit kicking and screaming and determined not to allow anyone to melt that carefully constructed exterior she hides behind.

Marilee finds in Sugar a dependable friend, a mother figure, and an unlikely kindred spirit. Sometimes, we still, even well into adulthood, seek approval, a salve for our loneliness, and a way to seek redemption for things we wish we could take back or redo, which is something Marilee goes through in this novel, while Sugar watches from the sidelines, ready to step in if and when necessary.

The characters in this book are going to stay with me for a long time. They are so well crafted, realistic and vivid I would swear they came to life. The plot is amazingly well crafted, quirky, emotional, witty and humorous, but also suspenseful and edgy.

The southern setting is a Karen White trademark, and as I've said many times before, there is just something about a story told with a southern flair that pronounces everything, from the food, (cookies in this case), to the scenery, to the dialogue. Karen White has that flair down to a science, and this novel is no exception, in fact, it’s exceptional.

In other words, this story has something for everyone, and can be read by anyone, and enjoyed by all, and is the type of story that is good for your soul. I loved it!

So, you’ve heard me gush long enough. Go forth and pre-order this book, you won’t regret it! show less

review

I have not read a book that I have loved as much as this book in a long time! A sassy 90 something lady named Sugar and the main character Merilee who unfortunately has a lot to overcome, mix the two together along with a few other characters and you have a great story! My least favorite character was Heather, the perfect wife, mother, room mother etc. We may all know someone a bit like her, super organized, volunteers for all the school events and is just too perfect. Merilee has a lot to overcome and I loved seeing her get stronger as the story unfolded. I loved the blog posts by an anonymous ( until we figure out who the author is...) author was great! I cannot resist a book with a bit of an underlying mystery to it and a show more surprise twist. I was not sure if I would grow to like Sugar, at first I thought that her character was too taciturn but she really grew on me. The southern food and sayings were a nice touch to the story, another thing that I cannot resist in a book!

I have read all of Karen Whites books and I can honestly say that each one is better than the next!

This review was originally posted on A WordPress Site show less

Wow. Wow. WOW. This book was FABULOUS. This is the first book by Karen White that I have read and I must say she didn’t disappoint! The characters were real. I could picture them as if they were sitting in the room with me telling me the story themselves. Those are the kind of books I love.

Merilee Talbot Dunlap has had more scandal grace her life than she cares to admit. Starting over in Sweet Apple, Georgia with her two kids, she finds herself among the topics of an anonymous blogger’s thoughts. Now with the less than glamorous events that caused her marriage to fail out in the open, she begins trying to rebuild.

Sugar Prescott is probably my favorite character in this book. Stubborn and callous at times, she tries hard to close show more herself off from her new tenants renting the cottage on her property. But there’s just something about Merilee and her children that melt the cold in Sugar’s heart. Having a colorful past of her own gives her the tools she needs to be sympathetic toward Merilee although she would never admit to such a thing.

Heather Blackford was nothing but kind to Merilee from the beginning. Buying her nice things and then sending her on a mini vacation “because that’s what friends do”. What Merilee doesn’t realize is Heather has her own agenda. A plan so well thought out no one sees it happening. Every rose has it’s thorn, but Heather is the rose bush. It looks pretty and wonderful from a distance, but pricks you when, not paying attention, you get too close.

When Merilee suddenly finds herself in the midst of yet another tragedy, she discovers the friends she made in Sweet Apple may not be as sweet as they let on. And secrets, although they remain buried, can come back to haunt you as the truth always comes to light.

I definitely give this book 5 stars. It took me a bit longer to read, mostly because with 2 small children demanding my attention, it was hard to find the time to read. But when I did find the time to read I was captured. show less

Karen White is hit or miss with me, depending on how heavily she relies on southern stereotypes to carry her story. This one really impressed me. While it was still firmly rooted in the south with southern characters, they felt less like southern caricatures and more like the people I've known over the last few decades. In addition to that, the pacing was great and the mysteries (from the past and the present) kept me wanting to know more. At a certain point I pretty much knew what was coming so the ending wasn't a huge surprise, but it was still fun to see it unfold. The characters were realistic and I wouldn't mind reading about them again in the future if the author decided that their stories weren't quite finished.

Merilee Dunlop is entering into a new stage of her life. She is recently divorced and is moving with her two children to Sweet Apple, Georgia. The divorce was amicable after her husband was found cheating with their daughter’s third grade teacher. She rents a cottage house from an elderly woman named Sugar Prescott. Sugar at ninety-four is very opinionated and is the self appointed town matriarch.

Merilee has enrolled her children in an elite private school to avoid the gossip around her failed marriage. The children adjust quickly to their new life while Merilee struggles with her social status. Merilee feels different because she is a divorced, working parent who doesn’t play tennis. Heather Blackford is the poster child for this show more stereotype and is living the life that the local women crave. She is at the top of the social ladder and others seem to worship her friendship. Heather eventually befriends Merilee and starts to dominate her life with carpools and awkward gifts. At the same time, Sugar starts to take an active interest in Merilee and her children. They forge an unlikely friendship that becomes stronger as drama and secrets unfold.

This is a story about a woman transitioning into a new phase of her life. She is forced to evaluate new acquaintances and along the way discovers a lot about herself. Karen White does a great job of blending drama, mystery, southern fiction, and romance in her new novel. show less