Review will be posted on 4/13/17

Merilee, mother to Lily and Colin, leaves her cushy life behind after her divorce and moves into a cottage on a farm in Georgia. Sweet Apple, Georgia is the quintessential Southern town and of course everyone knows everyone's business. She is renting a charming cottage on Sugar Prescott's farm, an older woman who has a no nonsense reputation around town. Merilee's children are starting over at a private school, but things are a bit different than she expected. The other moms are very high maintenance and are helicopter parents. Think Desperate Housewives meets Gone with the Wind. While trying to figure out her place in all of this, Merilee meets another mother, Heather, who takes her under her wing. Heather is pretty much the Queen Bee of Sweet Apple and they surprisingly hit it off. Thanks to Heather, Merilee finds her niche in the community, volunteers for a committee at school, and meets a whole new world of people. This is all juxtaposed by Sugar and her way of life, which is entirely different than Heather's. Sugar grew up when things were different in the South and is the polar opposite of Heather. Sugar is all about farming, home cooked meals, no technology, and other remnants of days gone by in Georgia. Although Sugar doesn't take to many people, she cares about Merilee since she is a single mom just trying to get by. Readers get to know a bit more about Sugar as we flashback to her memories of growing up on the farm and the various people that lived in Sweet Apple in the past. But as things progress for Merilee, she comes to find that behind the perfect people that live in Sweet Apple are secrets and things aren't what they seem. Perhaps things aren't so perfect after all, especially if you dig a little deeper and look closely. Karen White's The Night the Lights Went Out is a fantastic novel. It has everything that I want in a read. There's a Southern setting, some romance, some flashbacks to the past, compelling charcacters, and an edge of your seat mystery.

I adored Merilee from the beginning of The Night the Lights Went Out. Although she was pretty naive at times and too trusting of some of the women, I still felt for her situation. Her divorce wasn't easy; in fact, it was downright scandalous, so starting over and leaving all that behind is tough for her. She also has an interesting past and is dealing with her own issues, especially when it comes to the untimely death of her brother. When Heather takes Merilee under her wing, she relies on her much more than she should due to the place that she is at in her life. She also takes to Sugar, who she has a strong connection with. Even though Sugar is ninety some years old, she finds they have more in common than she thought.

Which leads me to the character of Sugar....I loved, loved, loved her in The Night the Lights Went Out. White did such a great job bringing her to life and I adored the flashbacks to her life on the farm many years ago. Her life was also filled with scandal, secrets, and many ups and downs. I thought White did a good job alternating the present with Sugar's past. It was very compelling!

There's a mystery in The Night the Lights Went Out, which also kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn't see it coming, but I was able to figure out who not to trust. Of course it takes some time for Merilee to figure out who is sincere and who is playing her, but that was part of the fun.

White also incorporates a few chapters that are excerpts for the town blogger who shares some juicy gossip and words of Southern wisdom. I absolutely loved this and I thought it as a nice touch.

So if you are looking for an atmospheric tale that has it all and will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also has some humor, history, and romance give Karen White's The Night the Lights Went Out a try this spring. It reminded me of a southern Big Little Lies and it's definitely one of my favorite books of the year. If you aren't sold yet, check out the excerpt of The Night the Lights Went Out below.

I loved Desperate Housewives when it was on air. When I saw that this book was described as a Wisteria Lane type of book, I knew I wanted to read it. I did think that the beginning of the story started a bit on the slow side however, it did pick up and become intriguing.

If you liked the craziness of Wisteria Lane and all of the mysteries that were hidden there, I suggest that you give this book a chance. Sugar was a pain in the ass landlord with a heart as big as the sea. She was definitely my favorite character.

The ending was so juicy that I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning to finish it. Then, I stayed up until 2 thinking about what I would write about it.

When Merilee and her husband split up, she moves with her two children to the little town of Sweet Apple, Georgia and rents a little house from Sugar Prescott. Sugar is one of those curmudgeonly ladies who likes her time and space and keeps herself at arm’s length from most people. There is a connection between Merilee and Sugar, it’s palpable from the start. They both have their share of secrets. (And one of them was a really big surprise to me!) Merilee’s children are enrolled in a private school and she is swept up by the “Lead” mother, Heather. Heather’s very rich and not afraid to show it. (I felt so sorry for her poor husband. He was a nice guy who fell in love with the wrong woman.) Merilee is swept up in Heather’s world and that just may be the plan…

We are also treated to an unknown blogger who writes about their little town with scathing clarity and a lot of humor. This writer has got their finger on the pulse of what’s true and what’s not. And kudos to Karen White for keeping me guessing on just who the mystery blogger was. I was waffling between two people all along, thinking for sure I knew who it was.

I loved how the book took us back into Sugar’s life as she slowly unfolded her story to Merilee. I think it is always a good thing when we can see what made a person be who they are in the present. I was just as invested in the past as I was in what was happening now. I also loved the slow moving friendship between Merilee and Wade. It didn’t move to fast which I think would have been a disservice to Merilee finding herself. I also loved that Merilee finally had that motherly support that she craved all her life. Her mother was a piece of work.

You can never go wrong with a book by Karen White. I love how she serves up the South in such a delicious way. I have never been there but always have been fascinated by it and in the blog, we are treated to little tidbits of “Southernisms”. Treat yourselves to this book. You will not be disappointed.

I happily received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s start with that cover, I just LOVE it! It’s gorgeous and though the ebook version (which I read) is pretty enough, I’m ordering a physical copy too. The Night the Lights Went Out is a perfect blending of genres with a southern flair, it has drama, intrigue, betrayals, history, a small dose of romance, truly something for everyone. Plus, it’s set in Georgia which always makes a fantastic setting in my opinion.

Merilee moves into a new home following her divorce with her two young children, Lily and Colin. She rents a place from Sugar, a life long resident of Sweet Apple, Georgia. Though these two seemingly have little in common, their proximity allows them to strike up an unlikely friendship and discover they may have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye.

I felt for Merilee right from the start, we’re the same age and imagining trying to start my life over in a small, tight knit is terrifying. Especially when it’s a small town in the south, some of the grown women in this book were worse than Regina George in Mean Girls! Sugar took me a little while longer to warm up to, she’s a bit crotchety but as she slowly shares her past with Merilee, I begin to really empathize with her. Both women were so deeply developed, resulting in characters that will stay with me for a long time.

I simply loved everything about this book, it was super entertaining, magically blending past and present as Merilee and Sugar both narrated sections. There are also sections from an anonymous blogger who only will reveal they’re a neighbor, preferring to keep their identity a secret, but they dispense some great life lessons and hilarious southern sayings. I did figure out a plot twist, but I was having such a fun time reading this, I didn’t even care. It beautifully captures small town Southern life and had enough gossip and whisperings to make it even more juicy.

Marilee Talbot Dunlap moves to Sweet Apple, Georgi with her two children. She rents a cottage from Sugar Prescott and Sugar begins to teach her to cook and begins to reveal some of her background. Secrets, family, friendship, and wonderful characters make this new novel by Karen White well worth reading.

This is the kind of book I just love. It starts out like an excellent story of a woman struggling to come to terms with her recent divorce and move on with her life. She is befriended by her elderly neighbor, Sugar, who is one of my favorite book characters in a long time. She is also befriended by the queen bee of the moms in Sweet Apple, Heather. If that was all that there was to this book, it would be a good book.

But there is so much more to this book. People aren’t who they initially appear to be. Secrets come to light. And someone ends up dead. It was great. This was the first book of Karen White’s I’d read. It won’t be the last.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with a review copy.

4.5 Stars!!!

Every time I pick up a book by Karen White, I'm impressed. It's like I forget what an amazing writer she is and how well she weaves a story. Those are just a couple of the reasons she is one of my all time favorite authors and on my auto-buy list.

The Night the Lights Went Out completely captivated me. In the beginning, it was the writing that did it. The southern setting of Sweet Apple Georgia was beautifully described. I could hear the characters' Southern accents as I read the book. Not too long after beginning, it was the plot that kept my attention. The four points of view that delivered it were very engaging.

First, there was Merliee. She was a recent divorcée trying to navigate her new world. She had recently moved into a rental house on Sugar Prescott's land, and her children were attending a new private school. Merliee was trying to develop new friendships with other parents and Sugar. Trying to fit in was stressful for her. I found it very easy to relate to. Making friends in your adult years is really hard.

The second and third point of views were both Sugar's. One was her current 90-something-year-old current day voice. Sugar was crotchety and stubborn, but a great person underneath her rough exterior. She saw people for who they really were. The old lady made me smile a lot. Sugar's second perspective was told through stories of her past. Bit by bit, she unfolded the mystery of her life. I loved learning how Sugar become the strong, outspoken woman she was today from her history.

The fourth and final perspective was an anonymous blogger. The blogger claimed to have all the insight into what was happening in Sweet Apple. The blog gave insight into not just local business and construction happenings, but also social gossip. What showed up on the blog was scandalous.

All four perspectives wove into a couple of different fascinating mysteries. The first, I mentioned above about Sugar's past. The second involves things that begin happening after Merilee makes some new friendships with parents from her children's school. The mysteries weren't too hard to figure out. I may have guessed some major plot twists early on, but it didn't keep me from enjoying the book. It actually made the revelations all that more fun.

The Night the Lights Went Out was truly a great women's fiction/mystery read. I enjoyed every minute I spent with it. I highly recommend reading it to anyone who enjoys great mysteries in a Southern setting.

What a wonderful story with some twists you would never expect. When you read the blurb you assume that Marilee is moving her children to small town Georgia to recover from her divorce and away from the gossip of her husband's infidelity. Her landlady, Sugar, feels that Marilee is a good person and starts teaching her the ways of Southern hospitality. But When murder rears its ugly head and Marilee is accused of murder Sugar, her elderly friends and Wade decide to help out. Great book in the style that has made Karen White one of my favorite writers. Lots of detail and very realistic characters makes this a page turner. Would love to return to Sweet Apple, Georgia and visit with Sugar and her friends again and again.

Despite a somewhat slow start, this ended up being more interesting than I had anticipated. I quickly picked up on the clues as to what was "off" in the story, but did not anticipate exactly how the chips would fall in the conclusion, which happened at a much faster pace than the rest of the book. Sugar's slowly revealed story of her past is full of sadness and grit, and the connections she and Merilee forge out of their shared griefs are, beneath Sugar's gruffness, very tender. This will be a great recommendation for summer and beach reading.

The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen White Is a 2017 Berkley publication.

Karen White reigns supreme when it comes to modern day southern fried storytelling. I love Karen White’s novels, so it’s fair to say I’m a little biased when it comes to her books, but this one is really special.

Marilee and her two children are uprooted from their lives after her husband, Michael cheats on her with their child's third grade teacher.

Moving to Sweet Apple, Georgia, Marilee rents a cottage from a gruff elderly woman everyone calls ‘Sugar’.

As Marilee gets settled in, she meets the other mothers in town, forges friendships, and may even have a love interest. But, one of the most important relationships she cultivates is with Sugar, as the two women begin sharing a type of quid pro quo confession of their painful past and sins, while unearthing a few old mysteries and solving a crime along the way.

There are books I enjoy, books that touch me or move me, books that make me laugh, or keep me on the edge of my seat. Some books combine all those elements, like this one did, but few of them hit all the notes with perfect tone and pitch and harmonizing, quite like this book did. I haven’t read a book like this one in a long time and I really, really, really needed this kind of story.

While books often focus on marriages, romance, and relationships within the family, allowing friendship bonds to lurk around the surface, this book places friendship front and center, and teaches a few valuable life lessons in the process.

We all have regrets, have all made mistakes, suffered painful losses, some more than others, and confession can be good for the soul. This is something Sugar discovered, albeit kicking and screaming and determined not to allow anyone to melt that carefully constructed exterior she hides behind.

Marilee finds in Sugar a dependable friend, a mother figure, and an unlikely kindred spirit. Sometimes, we still, even well into adulthood, seek approval, a salve for our loneliness, and a way to seek redemption for things we wish we could take back or redo, which is something Marilee goes through in this novel, while Sugar watches from the sidelines, ready to step in if and when necessary.

The characters in this book are going to stay with me for a long time. They are so well crafted, realistic and vivid I would swear they came to life. The plot is amazingly well crafted, quirky, emotional, witty and humorous, but also suspenseful and edgy.

The southern setting is a Karen White trademark, and as I've said many times before, there is just something about a story told with a southern flair that pronounces everything, from the food, (cookies in this case), to the scenery, to the dialogue. Karen White has that flair down to a science, and this novel is no exception, in fact, it’s exceptional.


In other words, this story has something for everyone, and can be read by anyone, and enjoyed by all, and is the type of story that is good for your soul. I loved it!

So, you’ve heard me gush long enough. Go forth and pre-order this book, you won’t regret it!

My library has ordered this title to be added to the collection.

I am always absolutely giddy when I am able to get my hands on an advanced copy of Karen Whites novels. What I like most about Whites novels is her ability to create memorable characters and, of course, her great southern humor. I felt a great affection for Sugar who reminded me so much of my grandmother, who grew up in rural SC working on a tobacco farm located on a dirt road named after her family. Like Sugar, she spoke her mind and was as spunky at 95 yrs old as she was at 25. Though parts of this were a bit predictable, I still really enjoyed it.

A fantastic read! With every twist and turn, I was on the edge of my seat. Secrets abound. When you find yourself in the dark, close your eyes, and you'll find the truth and a way out.--not meant to be a quote. Southern GRIT Lit at its finest!

A thoroughly enjoyable Southern story populated by endearing characters and enough juicy secrets to keep you turning the pages! I loved the way the relationship between Sugar and Merilee developed. The secondary characters--Wade, Heather, Dan, and Merliee's children--were nicely done as well. Throw in an anonymous blogger who's funny (those Southernisms!) and full of gossip PLUS a murder and you have a real winner. Fans of Karen White will not be disappointed with this one. Both the present day story and the flashbacks to the past are adroitly handled and the ending is definitely satisfying.

The Night the Lights Went Out by Karen White is an engaging escape, one that I had a hard time putting down. It is set in Sweet Apple, a small town outside of Atlanta, GA. That has been absorbed by the suburbs. Two women, one a recently divorced working woman with two young children and the other in her nineties whose family once owned most of the land around town, are brought together when Merilee rents a cottage on Sugar’s property. Sugar has been known as a curmudgeon, but underneath she is all that her name implies. Sugar can tell that Merilee has many secrets, having carried many of her own. Merilee is flattered that she is being courted at the by the leader of the moms, Heather Blackford, at her kid’s new private school. She can’t say no to requests involve herself in every committee and activity by this glamorous and wealthy woman.

Sugar finds it curious that Merilee doesn’t know how to bake or cook and inserts herself into the lives of her tenants to help out. As they become acquainted, she can’t help but unloading her deepest secrets to Merilee. She also bring in Wade grandson of her best friend since school, to fix thing in the cottage. Of course, handsome Wade becomes something of a regular fixture. Interspersed with the storyline is a series of blogs written by an anonymous person with town gossip and Southern sayings and ways of doing things, for the benefit of the many transients from outside that have moved to the Atlanta area. They help root the story in Sweet Apple. Less The Night the Lights Went Out seem to be a collection of sweet Southernisms, there is suspense on that night that you might see coming, but about which Merilee is clueless.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book prior to its release.

She's newly divorced and she and her children are going to make a fresh start. She's moved to a small house near the woods, right behind the big house of her landlord. She's a bit hesitant but it's cheaper and not far from her ex so visitations won't be a hassle. But she's got a sore heart and isn't ready to enter the dating world or even the "mom" world at school. Sometimes you just don't have any choice.

Berkley and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 11th.

Merilee finds her new landlord, Sugar, to be old and irascible. She wants nothing to do with them. Yet, she keeps showing up with baked goods and tries to get them to eat better meals. In time, a dubious friendship grows.

As if living in a strange town isn't bad enough, there's an anonymous blogger that knows about her past and the gossip going around town. She's trying to maintain a low profile but folks talk anyway. She tries to make friends but doesn't have as much success as she would like. She's happy the most popular and beautiful woman in town as taken her under her wing. She's even buying things for her as a friend. That would quirk my worry button. Nobody ever does stuff like that without wanting something in return.

When she goes to a fancy party at Heather and Dan's house, she does whatever Heather asks her to do. Finding Dan drowned at the end of the dock is more than she can take. Then they try to charge her with murder. It's a good thing she has Sugar and Wade on her side.

The ending is dramatic and you're not sure who is going to be alive when the fight is over. Old wrongs sometimes rise up in the present. Karma is a bitch. Merilee had carried guilt since high school over an incident but she didn't expect it to try to kill her...

DNF - Opening and first 50 pages were not enough to draw me into the story.

I really liked this book! I'm looking forward to recommending it!

At first glance the story seems to have a sort of "mean girls" theme regarding school moms. I can't give away any more, but it's much more than that! I went into this not expecting a murder ... but I loved watching it progress! This story is packed with secrets, family history, and Southern sweet tea.

Sugar, you'll find, is the heroine of this book, and she's an absolute riot! She's your typical 90 something ... no filter, and lover of television mystery dramas.

Merilee, I thought, was a bit dumb and naive ... and she has her lucky stars to thank for everything turning out as well as it did. Her two children, Lily and Colin, were sweet but I think a bit spoiled.

Isn't this cover gorgeous? Those binoculars factor into this story ... and I loved the little white dog that kept disappearing and reappearing...

Overall, a solid hit. Karen White is definitely an author to watch!!

The Night the Lights Went Out is the story of two women: Merilee, a divorced mother of two young children, and Sugar, the ninety-three year old woman who rents a cottage on her land to Merilee.

Merilee is recently divorced and has moved to a different area of town so her children are enrolled in a new school – where she is quickly taken under the wing of the queen bee mom. Her new friend will do anything for her in the name of friendship – something Merilee isn’t used to but is grateful. Her life has been in a complete state of upheaval so she’s glad to have a friend.

Sugar comes off as aloof and cranky to most people but Merilee can see through that facade and doesn’t back down when Sugar gives her attitude. The two women form a friendship in spite of themselves. I enjoyed their relationship as it evolved as they discovered how much they had in common. And when things got tough they found they could rely on each other.

The Night the Lights Went Out is a story about love, revenge, and friendship. It’s about realizing who your real friends are and what that means. It made me think about my closest friends and how we would step up for each other – no questions asked. And everyone should be so fortunate to have a Sugar in their life.

Recommended to fans of Karen White and contemporary fiction.

Another great title from Karen White. This title was a little darker than some of her other titles, but still had the same southern charm and compelling plot line that makes it hard to put down the book until you come to the last page.