The Night the Lights Went Out - by Karen White (Paperback)

About the Book

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Flight Patterns comes a stunning new women's fiction novel about a young single mother who discovers that there's no such thing as the perfect neighbor, and that finding out who your true friends are is the most important lesson of all. 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 faðcades of the seemingly perfect families who live there ... secrets that someone would kill to keep hidden"--

Book Synopsis

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....

Review Quotes

"If Big Little Lies met To Kill A Mockingbird and had a compulsively readable love child, that book would be The Night the Lights Went Out. I couldn't stop reading!"--New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig

"One of [White's] best books ever and it is as fresh as a new-mowed lawn. She gives her readers a little humor, a little drama, a little romance, and a little murder. Put them all together and they spell fascinating."--The Huffington Post

"Combines elements of Steel Magnolias with Gone Girl...touches all the bases of a chick-lit thriller, but White's sense of history gives the narrative a perspective that few mainstream entertainments have anymore."--StarNews (Wilmington, NC)

"Part Southern fiction, part women's fiction, part psychological thriller, part sweet romance, and part historical mystery--White's newest novel has it all....The deeper readers get in this story, the less they'll be able to tear themselves away from the complex characters and exquisite prose."--RT Book Reviews

"An atmospheric and entertaining look at the friends who keep your secrets--and the friends who keep you guessing until it's too late."--Kirkus Reviews

"Addictive, heartwarming, and suspenseful...a must read this summer! It is a read whose characters will stay with you long after the leaves begin to fall."--Caffeinated Book Reviewer

"With well-developed characters, a strong sense of place, a suspenseful plot, and plenty of Southern axioms sprinkled in, this is a warm and engaging novel by prolific author White. Verdict: Recommended for readers who enjoy the stories of Beatriz Williams, Kim Boykin, and Mary Alice Monroe."--Library Journal

"Part Liane Moriarty (for the gentle skewering of wealthy suburbia), part Kate Morton (for the connections between secrets of the present and the past), and part Mary Kay Andrews (charming and very Southern), White's latest should find a wide readership."--Booklist

About the Author

Karen White is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including the Tradd Street series, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, A Long Time Gone, and The Time Between. She is the coauthor of The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband and two children near Atlanta, Georgia.