That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White is a good summer read. The publisher’s description calls it A Gripping Southern Tale of Sisterhood, Secrets, and the Haunting Power of the Past. Most of the book is set in Mt. Pleasant with accurate descriptions of the marsh, pluff mud and South Carolina summer weather. As a child, Phoebe Manigault developed the gift of premonition after she was struck by lightning in the creek near her Charleston home. Plagued throughout her life by mysterious dreams, and always living in the shadow of her beautiful sister, Addie, Phoebe eventually moves to the West Coast, as far from her family as possible. Now, years later, she is summoned back to South Carolina, to help Addie care for their ailing mother.
I’ve read several books by the author and added it to my “wish list” as soon as I saw it was to be published. Like books by Mary Alice Monroe and Dorothea Benton Frank, the author casually mentions places in Mt. Pleasant and Charleston that are familiar names. It is a typical “summer read” but what I enjoyed the most was how the author began each chapter with thought-provoking parallels to birds, which were seamlessly threaded throughout the novel and added depth to the story.
My sister saw Karen White recently at an author event at the Cuyahoga County Library. Karen White mentioned her husband got her a bird feeder with a camera during the pandemic and the “rest is history”. In acknowlegements, she credits Wild Birds Unlimited with helping her in her research.
The book is available in all formats at the library and various book sellers.
Submitted by: Judy Morr