The Night the Lights Went Out

In Karen White's the Night the Lights Went Out, this woman's fiction novel is so breath-taking and powerful enough to pull on your heart strings for a wild ride. Merilee Dunlap was a recently divorced woman with two young children. After her husband's infidelity, she moved from Atlanta to the suburb of Sweet Apple.  But things aren't what they seem what they arrived. She had met her landlord, Alice "Sugar" Prescott, a ninety-year-old woman who lived a hard life throughout her years. At first, she didn't know anything about Merilee and her children, but she didn't mind giving her a helping hand or baking them cookies. When Merilee dropped off her kids at school, she met somebody named Heather Blackford who was in part of the welcoming committee and later friended her. Later on, she became part of the Sweet Apple community and became involved with school events; meanwhile, someone's an anonymous blogger who had the eyes on the sights and sounds of the neighborhood. When things had gotten hunky-dory and things were fine for a while, until Merilee discovered a tragic drowning. Later, the spotlight was on her, since this wasn't the first time she had lost someone from a drowning and had now carried a heart-wrenching secret close to her heart. But when the Sweet Apple PD suspect Merilee of the crimes, the tables have been turned to find out who set her up, someone she didn't suspect from her past, and to set the record straight to clear her name in a powerful ending.

This was a fabulous woman's fiction novel that dealt with friendship and how two people like Merilee and Sugar  had shared some secrets of their past. I loved the Sweet Apple small-town community and how she made new friends and bonded with people. I did become fond of Sugar and Dan, though I couldn't stand Heather or her parents for that matter.  I did like the mesmerizing locations of Sweet Apple and Tybee, Georgia, and how the visual images popped on the page for the scenic scenery. This would make you want to cry and root for Merillee, sigh and shake your head, and feel compassionate about your own neighbors with non-stop drama, action, suspense, and a spark of romance.

Will you be there on the Night When the Lights Went Out?

The Sound of Glass

In Karen White's The Sound of Glass, she told us a gripping tale about searching for the truth on the family and finding new answers for love. For Merritt Heyward, she recently lost her husband and moved to Georgia from Maine, when she recently inherited her late grandmother-in-law's home. From there, she met her stepmother Loralee and her ten-year-old half-brother Owen Connors, a family she didn't know, when she was estranged from her father, who had passed away. Within the hands of time, she met her half-brother-in-law Gibbes and revealed the truth to her marriage to him, and bonded with Loralee, who was gravely ill and carried a journal of truths. Together, they discover the truth of a 50-year-old plane crash, when it did with family secrets and the sounds of sea-glass, with a shocking heart-breaking twist in the end.

This was a beautiful and heart-warming mystery from Karen White. This really tugged at your heart with strong mixed emotions. I cared about Merritt, who dealt with an abusive husband, and for Loralee, who wanted to bond with Merritt before she died. I also enjoyed Gibbes and Owen, too. I loved the historical mystery plotline of the plane crash and the truth on who and why it was done, killing others along the way. This was a great story that dealt with love, heartache, and family secrets, for an intense and crazy mystery from the past that lead to the future.  Great drama, action, suspense, a hint of mystery and romance to wrap this up with a big bow.