By the book: ‘A Good Neighborhood’ should spark discussion

North Carolina author Therese Anne Fowler is best known for writing bestselling novels about famous women from the past like Zelda Fitzgerald (“Z”) and Alva Vanderbilt (“A Well-Behaved Woman”). Her latest novel, “A Good Neighborhood,” is rooted solidly in the present and chronicles a tragedy involving two neighboring families in the fictional town of Oak Knoll, North Carolina. Xavier, a biracial teen, falls in love with the troubled daughter of social climbing parents. The book tackles the question of how neighbors live beside each other when they disagree on fundamental values like race and religion.

“A Good Neighborhood” is bound to ignite lively book club discussions for its timely coverage of the troubling divides between Americans.

A simple dress has the power to impact lives, especially when that dress belongs to Grace Kelly. The princess’s wedding dress inspires “The Grace Kelly Dress,” the latest novel by Brenda Janowitz. Two years after her royal wedding, Grace Kelly’s iconic dress is still popular in Paris, and one wealthy bride commissions an exact replica. Who could guess that the dress would inspire three generations of women in the same family to forge their own paths in life? “The Grace Kelly Dress” is a charming and warm novel that deserves to be passed from daughter to mother to grandmother.

Are certain mysteries unsolvable? That question is answered in “Eight Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson. Bookseller Malcolm Kershaw compiles a list of the mystery genre’s most unsolvable murders which inspires a killer to replicate them. The FBI gets involved, and Malcolm fears he’ll be the next victim. “Eight Perfect Murders” re-visits some of literature’s most compelling unsolved murders, including one from my favorite novel, “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt. If you’re a dedicated mystery fan, this novel is a must-read.

Natalee Holloway’s 2005 disappearance in Aruba transfixed America for months. A similar narrative unspools in “Saint X” by Alexis Schaitkin. Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister is murdered on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Two local men are arrested but eventually released.

Years later, Claire encounters one of the suspects and becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about the details of her sister’s death. “Saint X” reminded me of Emma Cline’s “The Girls” in the way it re-imagined a real-life tragedy with insight and depth.

One of my favorite novels is Kate Atkinson’s “Life After Life,” which is a narrative about a woman who is reincarnated several different times until she gets it right. “Oona Out of Order” a novel by Margarita Montimore, also cleverly plays with time, visiting points in a woman’s life out-of-sequence. At the age of 19, Oona Lockhart contemplates her future. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? She faints and awakens 32 years in the future. With each passing year, she leaps to another age at random. It sounds confusing, but the author masterfully pulls off these machinations in this fun, magical offering.

South Carolina author M.B. Gibson released “Patience Can Cook a Stone,” the last book in a trilogy that brings her characters from 18th century Tipperary to Revolutionary-era South Carolina along the Savannah River.

The book is based on the memoirs of Barnwell County Revolutionary War veteran Tarlton Brown which highlight the battles and skirmishes that have often been ignored. The final edition in the trilogy follows a combination of actual and fictional characters from slaves to plantation owners, from Patriot to Loyalist, through the travails this war brought upon the backcountry of South Carolina.

The Barnwell County Museum will be hosting a launch and book talk on Feb. 27 from 6 until 7:30 p.m.

Do you have local literary news? Email it to karin.gillespie@gmail.com. By the Book is published monthly on last Sundays.