On Folly Beach

by Karen White

Book Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street novels comes a story of old wounds and second chances, set in the small South Carolina town of Folly Beach. To most people, Folly Beach is simply the last barrier island before reaching the great Atlantic. To some, it's a sanctuary for lost souls... When Emmy Hamilton's mother encourages her to buy the local book store, Folly's Finds, she hopes it will distract her daughter from the loss...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451488466
• ISBN13: 9780451488466
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.1" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Awful less than even 1 star

The print is SO light, you can barely read the book! It certainly is not “good” nor is it “acceptable” either! I have horrible headaches trying to read it.

I love this writer. This story keep me totally intrigued through the telling of it. the story has an interesting story with the discovery of a long kept secret found hidden in some old books with the last piece of the puzzle being found in a bottle tree.

As Always, a Phenomenal Read!

Emmy Hamilton is a recent widow; her husband, a soldier, was killed in Afghanistan. As to be expected, she's having a difficult time getting over his death. Her mother, Paige, insists that he would have wanted her to do more with her life other than stay in their small town in Indiana and work at Paige's bookstore. She encourages Emmy go to Folly Beach, a sanctuary for many, and buy the small town's bookstore, Folly's Finds. Emmy is reluctant at first; she's perfectly fine with staying where she is. However, when her mother buys a box of books from Folly's Finds, Emmy discovers that several of the books have messages written in them. She's always had a special "sense" about certain things, and when she touches a few of the books they send tingles up her spine. She arrives in Folly Beach and meets Abigail, the current owner, and Abigail's aunt Lulu. Lulu is quite the interesting character; she's not exactly pleased to see Emmy there. Emmy purchases the bookstore, with the condition that Lulu will be allowed to remain as an employee of Folly's Finds and continue to sell her very interesting bottle trees. As she renovates the bookstore, Emmy continues to find old books with messages written in them. They appear to be love notes written by a young man and woman during World War II. She eventually finds out more about the history of Folly Beach and of the couple who communicated via the old books from an initially reluctant Lulu. She learns that it wasn't merely a young love that was kept secret between the pages, she also discovers a possible murder & mysterious disappearance. Karen White's writing never ceases to amaze me. I've read all of her previous work and have enjoyed each of them tremendously. In On Folly Beach, White intricately weaves together two stories of love and loss. The chapters shift between the 1940s and present day and this is done in a very fluid manner. Each chapter reveals a new piece to the puzzle. I instantly became invested in the storyline and the characters. White added a bit of history and folklore to the story, really enhancing the already powerful story. Lulu's bottle trees intrigued me. African slaves brought the tradition of the bottle tree to the United States in the 18th century. The bottles on the trees ward off evil spirits; spirits who get caught in the bottles are unable to escape. In the story, a young Lulu also uses the bottle trees to communicate with loved ones who have gone away. In case you haven't realized it yet, I highly recommend these books. The Southern setting, the mystery, the characters all come together to form a phenomenal read!

Solid piece of spectacular story telling!

This book has so much going for it...Southern location, bookstores, Nancy Drew, book lovers, loss loves, broken hearts, an intriguing mystery and strong family connections. There wasn't a page that I didn't enjoy reading and even though I wanted desperately to see how Emmy and Lulu's stories would end, I truly didn't want this book to run out of pages!!! I love how White took historical facts and weaved them into her story. It really made everything come alive and I could visualize each character, smell the ocean, and feel the heartbreak. For me a good book not only entertains, but also can help expand my knowledge of history and folklore. I've never heard of bottle trees nor had any idea about the stories behind them. Slaves from Africa thought that you could capture evil spirits within the bottles, thus keeping you safe from harm. When the sun rose the next day, the spirits were then destroyed. She headed down the street without glancing back, hearing again the sound of the wind crying into the necks of open bottles, afraid of what she might see if she did. p.180 Add to this, the time period of World War II,German U-boats off the eastern coastline, Foreign spies and you really have an interesting history lesson going on. History came alive within this book and I felt connected to each time period and to all of the characters. Even the ones that I didn't like so much on a personal level. I feel that she told Emmy and Lulu's story with incredible insight and she made you understand that even though they're separated by years in age, that when you lose someone you love during wartime, the loss and the feelings experienced are universal. I could easily see myself re-reading this one at some point and I normally don't re-read anything! Looks like I'm going to have to visit Folly Beach and bring this book with me! Maybe I'll come home with a bottle tree too!!!!

Beautifully written and interesting story

ON FOLLY BEACH is the third Karen White book I've read in recent months, although it's the first stand alone novel of hers I've read. What draws me to her books is not only the locale of South Carolina's Low Country, but her easy writing style, intriguing stories and interesting characters she introduces to me. All of those things add up to a great read in my opinion. Another great thing about this book is that it cleverly tells more than one story. Its the story of Emmy, a recent widow whose husband has been killed in Afghanistan while serving his country; its the story of Lulu, a woman who has lived on Folly Beach for more than seventy years and who has harbored secrets almost as long; but this is also Lulu's sister, Maggie's story from a tumultuous time in our nation's history, when there was a lot of uncertainty and fear during World War II. This is a story of love, loss. loyalty and betrayal that spans more than sixty years and impacts several people's lives in many different ways. And the best thing of all is that the common denominator in the telling of all of these stories is books. I love stories about books and Ms. White has used the vehicle of books to carefully craft and intertwine these women's stories and brings them beautifully together by the end. The way Karen White lays out this story using chapters to alternate between 2009, where we meet Emmy after the loss of her husband and 1942, in the telling of Maggie and Lulu's story was fantastic. When Emmy reluctantly leaves her Indiana life behind to move to Folly Beach, South Carolina, a place she's never been before, to buy an old bookstore, she had no idea how it would change her life. Emmy's discovery of secret messages written in the margins of old books found at Folly's Finds, the bookstore she bought sight unseen, starts her on a journey that not only fascinates her but also forces her to see things about her own life she is resistant to. As time goes on, Emmy worries that the further she delves into these secrets and begins to figures out who wrote the messages, the more danger of hurting the very people who have been so warm and kind to her since moving to Folly Beach. Not only did I love the way in which the story unfolded and the characters, I was also intrigued by the story of how the war affected those living along the eastern seaboard and the Duquesne spy ring that could have changed the outcome of the war. The historical element in this book had me completely drawn in. It sparked a curiosity in me to know more about events that I have to admit, I knew nothing about from my American History classes. Some of my favorite books are the ones that not only entertain me but get me to thinking and make me want to learn more. And thats what this book did for me. ON FOLLY BEACH is one of the best books I've read this year. I can't encourage you enough to read this beautifully told story. You won't be disappointed.

Ghosts from the past become real-life inspiration for finding love in the future.

This book is a gem in disguise. On the surface, it is an story about women, the men they love (and lost), and finding forgiveness for others and ultimately for themselves. The story is told in flashback style, with a glimpse of Folly beach in the 1940's (war time) and also more currently in the year 2009. in the flashback story, Maggie and Lulu are parentless sisters, living with their cousin Cat (who is more than a bit flirtatious with the boys). Their live on Folly Beach is typical of lives during war time, but it is tenderly mixed with the stories of the men they met and loved, and what became of those relationships. The contemporary story centers on Emmy, as she faces a sorrowful loss of her own. She tries to move on, and during a twist of fate, finds that she is moving to Folly Beach herself to manage the job of "finding herself." There she runs into some of the ghosts and real-life people who were featured in the flashback story. Often, stories told in flashback are confusing to read, as they shift from the past actions to current events, the readers sometimes have difficulty keeping it all straight. Not so with this story. The author keeps the names, circumstances and events so clearly easy to follow, that the reader will absolutely enjoy the anticipation of reading from past events and then caching up to what is happening in the future sections. This book is a love story that will inspire anyone who has lost a love, or who is in love for the first time. I recommend it to anyone of any age, it is skillfully written and was a joy to read.

PAST AND PRESENT INTERSECT IN THIS SUSPENSEFUL TALE...

When Emmy Hamilton's husband dies in the war, she isolates herself in her hometown in Indiana, until one day, almost in an uncharacteristically unusual way, her mother pushes her to buy a bookstore in Folly Beach, South Carolina, where she herself grew up, and then offers her an additional incentive. A box of old books, shipped from the store Folly's Finds that contains a unique image of a beautiful bottle tree. Perusing the books leads to another discovery that seals the deal for Emmy. She takes the plunge, and from the first moment that she arrives, she is catapulted into a world of beauty, strange individuals--like Lulu, whose sister Maggie was the first owner of the store, and who creates strangely beautiful bottle trees--and town customs that allow Emmy to slowly begin to immerse herself in her new environment. As she examines more of the old books, she begins to uncover what appears to be a strange and secret correspondence between a man and a woman living in Folly Beach in the 1940s. Letters and notes on the margins of pages lead Emmy to ponder and begin to question some of the townsfolk, including Lulu. But Lulu is strangely reticent, which piques Emmy's curiosity even more. The reader is treated to the story told in the past (1940s) and in the present (2009), in alternating sequence, and this method of revealing the story slowly amps up the mystery even more. It took a couple of chapters before I became totally invested in the story, but by then, I was so intrigued that I couldn't wait to find out more. On Folly Beach, by Karen White, is another wonderfully compelling read by an author whose work I have grown to enjoy. I am now excited to read her next one.