Another Winner From The Charming and Witty Dot Frank

Wonderful characters who spout witty dialogue, the luscious South Carolina setting she is famous for, and hefty helpings of the food and manners bred as only the South can breed, make this latest offering from Dot Frank a true gem for lazy summer days. Even if you're not reading it on the beach, you will smell the salt air and experience the sand between your toes. The author puts you there as she has in her four previous books because she does local color better than most anyone writing today.

But it is the wonderful characters that will stay with you long after the last page is turned. Perhaps, Dot's most memorable creation to date is the inimitable Huey Valentine. He's the true Southern gentleman, dedicated to his art gallery and his menu planning, a devoted son to the aging and delightful Miss Olivia, and with a surprising twist that will leave you open-mouthed at the novel's spectacular ending. It is Huey who takes in runaway wife Rebecca and calls in his best friend, retired attorney Abigail Thurmond, to help Rebecca dissolve her marriage and get custody of her two children. Abigail is quite a creation herself, a middle-aged woman battling depression and shouldering huge amounts of guilt over the deaths of both her son and her husband. How Huey and Abigail find a purpose in life in helping Rebecca, how magnificently-drawn supporting characters like Charlene, the ultimate Redneck Woman, move the story along, and how life on Pawley's Island changes for the better, make this a most entertaining book.

Thank you, Dot Frank. You've done it again!

Another Song from the South

Dorothea Benton Frank has really come into her own as a writer - and this is her best novel yet. Her prose is smooth, polished and sings with the seawater from her beloved South, taking us into the lives of several quirky but undeniably charming characters - Huey, Abigail and his "Maybe just another sip of sherry" mother.

And then there's Rebecca, who's reeling from a cheatin', lyin', no good husband - much like the protagonists of Frank's other novels. You can't help but root for the gal, especially if you've been there yourself. And frankly, who hasn't?

My favorite scene takes place during the hurricane, when Abigail runs into a long-lost love. Alas; if only all hurricanes could be so romantic. And if only Ms. Frank could write more books, more often. We'd all be very happy indeed.

Pawley's- Gotta Love it

This is the 4th Frank book I've read so far. I enjoyed it. I read it on a rainy getaway to Garden City. LOL. Two things come to mind when reviewing this book: 1) I grew up in the Georgetown/ Pawleys area, and this is not the way I perceive Pawleys to be. Maybe it's the generation gap, but I don't view Pawleys people as ritzy as this book portrays them, Debordieu, maybe, but not Pawleys. Most of the people I know in Pawleys are very laid back- shorts and t'shirt kinda people who are very down to earth. Huey is not your typical Pawleys Islander.
2) After Rebecca goes to court, and, I won't ruin the ending, the climax of the book seems to come too soon in my opinion. Nothing happens in the next 60 pages that is of much interest to me.
Purely my opinion, though.
I love her books because I myself am a SC girl!