Karen S. White

After a newly divorced mother of two moves to an affluent Atlanta suburb with her children, she becomes involved in the secrets and scandals lurking behind the facades of the seemingly perfect families who live there... secrets that someone would kill to keep hidden.

The Night the Lights Went Out

Cindy

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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 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!

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Karen White

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street series comes a stunning novel about a young single mother who discovers that the nature of friendship is never what it seems.... Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It’s not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren’t helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail. Merilee finds some measure of peace in the cottage she is renting from town matriarch Sugar Prescott. Though stubborn and irascible, Sugar sees something of herself in Merilee—something that allows her to open up about her own colorful past. Sugar’s stories give Merilee a different perspective on the town and its wealthy school moms in their tennis whites and shiny SUVs, and even on her new friendship with Heather Blackford. Merilee is charmed by the glamorous young mother’s seemingly perfect life and finds herself drawn into Heather's world. In a town like Sweet Apple, where sins and secrets are as likely to be found behind the walls of gated mansions as in the dark woods surrounding Merilee’s house, appearance is everything. But just how dangerous that deception can be will shock all three women....

Dorian Avers

I don't know why the book version is not available to choose on here. There are 406 pages total to this book. I love the cover and I was interested when I saw that this book was being compared to "Big Little Lies", which I want to read and "To Kill a Mockingbird", even though this wasn't one of my favorites. In the beginning I thought I'd like this book. It seemed like a grown up Gossip Girl. As the story went on I started hating Merilee's personality, especially the way she talked to Wade. I didn't like Sugar's flashbacks. I know they're supposed to be terrible moments from her past, and contrast with present day Sweet Apple. They didn't really add anything to the story for me. I wasn't excited to learn more about Sugar because I knew it would be just another tragedy to add to the pile and after the second it added nothing to her character development. I thought the ending was cliched and ridiculously unrealistic, even in a dramatic sort of way. I don't know. I did read the last 100+ pages in one sitting and they did hold my attention, but I was mostly just trying to get done with the book quickly. The only two characters in this book that I liked were Wade and Dan and they were both made for the background. And another book with unrealistic seeming kids. I don't know, I just really did not enjoy this book.

Jan Talkington

If I could give 1/2 stars, this would be 3 1/2. It's a nice, well written story for what it is. A little predictable but I enjoyed getting to know the people of Sweet Apple.

The Night the Lights Went Out

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