The Peach Keeper Audiobook By Sarah Addison Allen cover art

The Peach Keeper

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Peach Keeper

By: Sarah Addison Allen
Narrated by: Karen White
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be. It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots. But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it. For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town. Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living. Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that—in good times and bad, from one generation to the next—endure forever.

©2011 Sarah Addison Allen (P)2011 Random House
Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Sagas Women's Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

They say you’ll never find friends like the ones who knew you when you were young and for the women in Sarah Addison Allen’s The Peach Keeper, that wisdom is half right. The story traces the relationships between two sets of women Agatha and Georgie and their granddaughters, Paxton and Willa who travel the winding path of lifelong friendship and the detours along the way.

Narrator Karen White lends her gentle tone to three generations of families in the town of Walls of Water, North Carolina, a southern escape that’s become more of a trap for Paxton and Willa. As part of a celebration of the town’s Women’s Society Club, started by Agatha and Georgie when they were teenagers, Paxton takes on the overhaul of the town’s most acclaimed property: A breathtaking mansion that Willa’s relatives were forced to sell when they lost their fortune. But when landscapers discover a dead body buried on the property, the town starts looking at the Club, the property, and its history in a whole new way.

Paxton and Willa didn’t grow up as friends, but as adults they’re forced to work together to solve the mysteries their grandmothers left behind. White balances the complicated relationship of Paxton and Willa’s youth where they weren’t exactly enemies but definitely weren’t friends with their grown-up emotions, their love for their grandmothers, and their burgeoning friendship. Her grounded narration keeps listeners hooked while Paxton and Willa deal with questions of trust, surprising confidences, and unexpected similarities (along with one’s romantic entanglement with the other’s brother). In the end, The Peach Keeper is a story about the friends you make, the friends you keep, and the friends you never forget. Blythe Copeland

Critic reviews

"Allen juggles smalltown history and mystical thriller, character development and eerie magical realism in a fine Southern gothic drama. The underlying tension will please and unnerve readers, as well as leave them eager for Allen's next." (Publisher's Weekly)

What listeners say about The Peach Keeper

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    344
  • 4 Stars
    191
  • 3 Stars
    122
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    300
  • 4 Stars
    122
  • 3 Stars
    58
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    23
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    297
  • 4 Stars
    132
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love it

I don't know why everyone is hating on the narrator, I think she read the book in the most appropriate way. I adore this story and its beautiful message about friendship and supporting fellow women.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth the read

Not my favorite of her stories but still worth the read. The narrator had a slightly awkward way of reading which made it a bit uncomfortable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just a fan

I just love all of her books. It feels like the romance version of action adventure. There are twists, and turns, and secrets, intertwined with historical intrigue. And the whole time I find myself rooting for love.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enchanting

Sarah is by far my favorite author, and none of her books disappoint! Karen White did an amazing job narrating, making my first audio book adventure a pleasure :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Always great

I love all of her books. There are a few cameos by characters from her other books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this one!

I have read several of Allen's books, and have loved every one of them! I love how she brings magic into her stories and it is so believable! Don't miss any of Sarah's books--I can't wait to read/listen to more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

love this book

this book was even better the 2nd time. endearing characters and thought-provoking life lessons that everyone needs to learn. I love that some of the characters were able to come to a more full understanding of their parents. ones choices need not be the same as ones parents choices.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story

I love how the Sarah Addison Allen incorporated characters from her previous books in it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Couldn't stand the reader!

Would you try another book from Sarah Addison Allen and/or Karen White?

I like the author; however, the story was ruined by the narrator. I will be buying the paperback version instead because the narrator's voice is so whiny and annoying that I couldn't tolerate listening to it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Sarah Addison Allen? Why or why not?

Yes, I like the author. I also read Garden Spells which was great

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Voice reminded me of my children whining and begging.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful !!!

Love Sarah Addison Allen ! Great story always light ,fun and a little mysterious mixed with love :) cant wait for her next book
all of her books are magical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful