Five Miles South of Peculiar

Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt is a poignant yet joyful novel of a Southern family finding its way home. The Caldwells of Peculiar, Florida have always lived in their estate The Sycamores, but in 2018, exactly fifty years after the death of the family founder, all of the property will pass into the hands of the city. Despite this looming deadline, Darlene and Nolie Caldwell continue living life at The Sycamores as it's been lived for the past fifty years, without thought of social networking or computers. Nolie spends her time sewing beautiful aprons and dreams of the day when she'll meet a good man to help ease the wounds of a past love. Darlene is a force of nature within Peculiar, running most of the town's groups, while almost having a relationship with the mayor. When Darlene's twin sister Carlene returns home from a successful life on Broadway (and hiding a secret), Darlene is at first thrilled to unite with her other half, but the twins were in love with the same man, who became Darlene's husband, and that wound is still tender and deep in them both. The three women are all looking for something, but they each need to heal the pain between them before they can find it. Hunt has created another powerful novel filled with people you not only want to know, but feel like you've met. This story may not have a time-traveling serial killer or vampires falling in love with ghosts; instead it has heart and a deep understanding of people. Hunt doesn't have to use flashy storylines to create a novel that is impossible to put down. The story of the Caldwell sisters will stay with me, because of Hunt's ability to craft such fully fleshed characters. I love the author's work, and this novel will certainly gain her some new fans.

Thank you to Glass Road Publicity for providing me with a copy of this book for review.