A Peach of a Pair

     South Carolina native Kim Boykin was in Charleston recently, promoting her newest book,  A Peach of a Pair.  I was lucky enough to meet the author at the Blue Bicycle Book Luncheon held at Hall's Chophouse on King Street.  We were treated to a delicious meal and the hospitality that Hall's is known for, as well as an insider's view of the publishing world.  Ms. Boykin is a lively, interesting speaker and a very talented author.

     A Peach of a Pair is set in and around Columbia and Camden, South Carolina in the early 1950's.  It is at once a road-trip book, a love story, and a study of the complicated relationships that can exist within families.
     The "Peaches" are elderly, spinster sisters Emily and Lurleen Eldredge, proper Southern ladies who have secrets to keep and stories to tell.  Enter Nettie Gilbert,  a college senior with secrets of her own.   Hired as the sisters caregiver by handsome Dr. Remmie Wilkes, Nettie soon learns that both love and forgiveness are needed to mend her broken heart.
     Told alternately from the perspective of each elderly sister, the college coed and the young doctor who cares for them all, A Peach of a Pair is a page turner.  I carried the book around with me for three days until I reluctantly finsished it.  I didn't want it to end!
     It's also the first book in a long time that has made me cry real tears over the well-formed characters and poignant storyline.  Jealousy, betrayal, forgiveness and ultimately love shine bright in A Peach of a Pair.