Recommendations based on Sullivan's Islandby Dorothea Benton Frank

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Isle of Palms

    by Dorothea Benton Frank
    A woman escapes to her family's beach house on the Isle of Palms after a devastating divorce, finding healing and love in unexpected places.

    Anna Lutz Abbot considers herself independent and happy, until one steamy summer when she must find a way to deal with the secrets of her unpredictable family-and her past. ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Last Original Wife

    by Dorothea Benton Frank
    A woman reevaluates her life and marriage after being excluded from her husband's golf club.

    Experience the sultry Southern atmosphere of Atlanta and the magic of the Carolina Lowcountry in this funny and poignant tale of one audacious woman’s quest to find the love she deserves, from New ... (Barnes & Noble)

  3. Porch Lights

    by Dorothea Benton Frank
    A woman returns to her childhood home in the South and confronts family secrets, love, and loss.

    When fireman Jimmy McMullen is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. Savannah Blues

    by Mary Kay Andrews
    A woman flees to Savannah to start a new life, but finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery and a love triangle.

    Meet Weezie (aka Eloise) Foley, a feisty antiques “picker,” banished by her spiteful ex-husband from the house she herself restored in Savannah’s historic district, who must come to terms with a life ... (Goodreads)

  5. Home to Holly Springs

    by Jan Karon
    A man's journey to discover his past, uncovering the secrets hidden in his hometown.

    Readers of the nine bestselling Mitford novels have been captivated by Jan Karon's gift for illuminating the struggles that creep into everyday lives along with a vividly imagined world ( People ). ... (Goodreads)

  6. Charms for the Easy Life

    by Kaye Gibbons
    Three generations of women in the South navigate love, family, and independence in the early 20th century.

    A family without men, the Birches live gloriously offbeat lives in the lush, green backwoods of North Carolina. Radiant, headstrong Sophia and her shy, brilliant daughter, Margaret, possess powerful ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Kitchen House

    by Kathleen Grissom
    A young Irish girl is taken in by a plantation family in Virginia and becomes entangled in the lives of the slaves who work there.

    When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship ... (Goodreads)

  8. Big Stone Gap

    by Adriana Trigiani
    A small-town woman's journey of self-discovery, finding love and purpose in unexpected places.

    Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed ... (Goodreads)

  9. Shepherds Abiding

    by Jan Karon
    A heartwarming Christmas story about the residents of Mitford, as Father Tim tries to restore a Nativity scene.

    The eighth novel in the beloved Mitford series, by the bestselling author of, At Home in Mitford, and, Somebody Safe with Somebody Good, Millions of Americans have found Mitford to be a favorite ... (Goodreads)

  10. On Folly Beach

    by Karen White
    A woman inherits a bookstore in Folly Beach and discovers a mysterious diary that reveals secrets of the past.

    Folly Beach, South Carolina, has survived despite hurricanes and war. But it's the personal battles of Folly Beach's residents that have left the most scars, and why a young widow has been beckoned ... (Goodreads)

  11. Big Cherry Holler

    by Adriana Trigiani
    The sequel to "Big Stone Gap" follows Ave Maria as she navigates marriage, motherhood, and a new career in the big city.

    It has been eight years since pharmacist and longtime spinster Ave Maria Mulligan married. What she hasn't counted on is that fate and the ghosts of the past will come to haunt her, and test the love ... (Goodreads)

  12. A Gathering of Secrets

    by Linda Castillo
    Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates a murder in an Amish community, uncovering dark secrets and long-held grudges.

    A deadly fire exposes the dark side of Amish life in this harrowing thriller by bestselling author Linda Castillo. When a historic barn in Painters Mill burns to the ground in the middle of the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. A Common Life: The Wedding Story

    by Jan Karon
    The wedding of Father Tim and Cynthia, filled with love, laughter, and unexpected surprises.

    The sixth novel in the beloved Mitford series, by the bestselling author of, At Home in Mitford, and, Somebody Safe with Somebody Good, Laughter and wedding bells ring as Jan Karon takes her millions ... (Goodreads)

  14. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

    by Ann B. Ross
    Recently widowed Miss Julia navigates small-town Southern life, scandal, and family drama with wit and charm.

    Miss Julia, a recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow and unceremoniously announces that the child ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Prince of Tides

    by Pat Conroy
    A man's search for solace and understanding in his troubled family's past.

    Tom Wingo is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young daughters who has recently lost his job as a high school English teacher and football coach. He learns that his twin sister, Savannah, has ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Sound of Glass

    by Karen White
    A widow inherits a house from her husband's grandmother, uncovering family secrets and a tragic past.

    The, New York Times, bestselling author of, A Long Time Gone, now explores a Southern family’s buried history, which will change the life of the woman who unearths it, secret by shattering secret. It ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Deal of a Lifetime

    by Fredrik Backman
    A grandfather shares a powerful parable of life and death, teaching his grandson the importance of compassion and kindness.

    A father and a son are seeing each other for the first time in years. The father has a story to share before it’s too late. He tells his son about a courageous little girl lying in a hospital bed a ... (Goodreads)

  18. Cold Mountain

    by Charles Frazier
    A Confederate soldier's homecoming journey, filled with danger and adventure.

    The novel opens in a Confederate military hospital near Raleigh, North Carolina , where Inman is recovering from battle wounds during the American Civil War . The soldier is tired of fighting for a ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Watermelon

    by Marian Keyes
    Claire's life falls apart when her husband leaves her for a younger woman, but a trip to her family in Ireland helps her find herself again.

    At twenty-nine, Claire has everything she ever wanted: a boyfriend she adores, a great apartment, a good job. Then, on the day she gives birth to her first baby, James visits her in the recovery room ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Gap Creek

    by Robert Morgan
    A rural family's struggles with poverty and hardships of life in the Appalachians.

    Gap Creek's main character is a young girl, Julie, who does everything she possibly can to help her family and her new husband, Hank. Julie works hard to help her family when they need it, some even ... (Wikipedia)

  21. South of Broad

    by Pat Conroy
    A group of friends navigate life in Charleston, South Carolina, through love, loss, and tragedy.

    The story is divided into five parts. Part one focuses on introducing the reader to Leopold Bloom King (Leo), his family, and his set of friends who he meets on a fateful Bloomsday (June 16, 1969). ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  23. The Patron Saint of Liars

    by Ann Patchett
    A woman's escape from an unhappy marriage leads to a chance at finding true love.

    The book is divided into four sections: Habit, Rose, Son, and Sissy In 1906, George Clatterbuck witnesses a miracle as his daughter, June Clatterbuck, is healed by water from a spring in the back ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

    by Maggie O'Farrell
    Story of two women's struggle to uncover a dark family secret and reclaim their freedom.

    In the middle of tending to the everyday business at her vintage-clothing shop and sidestepping her married boyfriend’s attempts at commitment, Iris Lockhart receives a stunning phone call: Her ... (Barnes & Noble)

  25. The Pelican Brief

    by John Grisham
    A law student's investigation into a political assassination, uncovering a deadly conspiracy.

    The story begins with the assassinations of two ideologically divergent Supreme Court Justices. Both murders are committed by Khamel, the most wanted hitman in the world. Justice Rosenberg, a ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Circle of Friends

    by Maeve Binchy
    A story of friendship, love, heartache, and acceptance set in a small Irish town.

    Big, generous-hearted Benny and the elfin Eve Malone have been best friends growing up in sleepy Knockglen. Their one thought is to get to Dublin, to university and to freedom... On their first day ... (Goodreads)

  27. Summer Sisters

    by Judy Blume
    Two teenage girls' deepening friendship, and the changing dynamics of their lives over a span of two decades.

    The novel begins with a phone call from Caitlin to Vix. Caitlin calls to tell Vix that she is marrying Vix's ex-boyfriend and first love, Bru. Vix is shocked and becomes sick with the news. ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Reckoning

    by John Grisham
    A WWII veteran murders a local minister and refuses to explain why. The town seeks justice, but the truth is more complicated than they realize.

    The plot centers on the 1946 murder trial of prominent family patriarch Pete Banning, a war hero who has returned home from the Second World War . The story takes place in the fictional town of ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Beach Music

    by Pat Conroy
    A man's struggle to confront his past and find peace with his present.

    An American expatriate in Rome unearths his family legacy in this sweeping novel by the acclaimed author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini A Southerner living abroad, Jack McCall is ... (Goodreads)

  30. Standing in the Rainbow

    by Fannie Flagg
    A comedic story of a small town in Alabama and its eccentric inhabitants, highlighting the beauty of human relationships.

    Along with Neighbor Dorothy, the lady with the smile in her voice, whose daily radio broadcasts keep us delightfully informed on all the local news, we also meet Bobby, her ten-year-old son, destined ... (Goodreads)