About the Book
When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman with the NYFD, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing, curious boy has become quiet and reserved. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivans Island.
Crossing the bridge from the mainland, Jackie and Charlie enter a world full of wonder and magic-lush green and chocolate grasslands and dazzling red, orange, and magenta evening skies; the heady pungency of Lowcountry Pluff mud and fresh seafood on the grill; bare toes snuggled in warm sand and palmetto fronds swaying in gentle ocean winds.
Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the family matriarch who has kept the porch lights on to welcome them home. Thrilled to have her family back again, Annie promises to make their visit perfect-even though relations between mother and daughter have never been what you'd call smooth. Over the years, Jackie and Annie, like all mothers and daughters, have been known to have frequent and notorious differences of opinion. But her estranged and wise husband, Buster, and her flamboyant and funny best friend Deb are sure to keep Annie in line. She's also got Steven Plofker, the flirtatious and devilishly tasty widowed physician next door, to keep her distracted as well.
Captivated by the island's alluring natural charms and inspired by colorful Lowcountry lore-lively stories of Blackbeard and his pirates who once sailed the waterssurrounding the Carolinas and of former resident Edgar Allan Poe-mother, daughter, and grandson will share a memorable, illuminating summer. Told in Annie's and Jackie's alternating voices, and filled with Dorothea Benton Frank's charming wit, indelible poignancy, and hallmark themes-the bonds of family, the heart's resilience, and the strength of love-Porch Lights is a triumph from "the queen of Southern fiction" (Charlotte Observer).
New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank is back home in the Carolina lowcountry, spinning a tale that brims with the warmth, charm, heart, and humor that has become her trademark. Porch Lights is a stirring, emotionally rich multigenerational story-a poignant tale of life, love, and transformation-as a nurse, returning to Sullivans Island from the Afghanistan War, finds her life has been irrevocably altered by tragedy...and now must rediscover love and purpose with the help of her son and aging mother.
An evocative visit to enchanting Sullivans Island with its unique pluff mud beaches, palmetto trees, and colorful local lore-a novel filled with unforgettable characters, and enlivened by tales of the notorious Blackbeard and his bloodthirsty pirate crew and eerie Edgar Allan Poe stories-Porch Lights stands tall among the very best works of not only Dottie Frank, but Anne Rivers Siddons, Rebecca Wells, Pat Conroy, and other masters of the modern Southern novel as well.
About the Author :
New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Until her passing in 2019, Dorothea and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina. A contemporary voice of the South, Dorothea Benton Frank was beloved by fans and friends alike since her debut novel Sullivans Island. Readers from coast to coast fell for the quick wit and the signature humor that permeated her many bestselling novels.
Review :
"The prolific Frank provides another sweet summer read set in her beloved South Carolina Low Country.... Head to the beach, apply sunblock, read, and enjoy!" - Booklist
"Something about her novels just seems to say summer." - USA Today
"Porch Lights is another outstanding read by Ms. Benton Frank.... An engaging read with well-developed characters and a location evocatively described, the reader feels a part of the muggy, briny setting and it heart-warming story." - New York Journal of Books
"Packed with Lowcountry charm and Frank's trademark humor, this family story is sure to delight readers." - BookPage.com
[A] compelling tale of betrayal, shocking loss, acceptance, family ties, redemption and renewal....There must be something in the sea air and coastal breezes that infuses the language of low country authors such as Frank with full, lush, evocative word paintings. "Folly Beach" was much more than a great summer novel, with its combination of a romantic story and the careful blending of history. - Bowling Green Daily News
[T]he queen of sassy Southern fiction. - Charlotte Observer
"A masterful storyteller." - Booklist
"Dottie Frank's books are sexy and hilarious. She has staked out the lowcountry of South Carolina as her personal literary property." - Pat Conroy, Author of South of Broad
"Frank keeps you reading compulsively." - Charlotte Observer
