Emmy Hamilton is grieving the death of her young husband, Ben, who lost his life serving in Afghanistan. Emmy isn’t sure she will ever be able to move on from the tragedy, but her mother convinces her to seek out Folly Beach, particularly the bookstore Folly’s Finds. Emmy’s love for books and history is strong, and when she receives a box of books from Folly’s Finds, she uncovers what she believes is a love story from the 1940’s during WWII. The letters hidden away between the pages are enough to convince Emmy to move away and try to piece together who exactly the lovers were- and clear up a possible murder that may have been committed in the past.
Once Emmy moves to Folly Beach and begins work at Folly’s Finds, the mysteries from the 1940’s start to piece together. Emmy meets Lulu, whose sister Maggie was the original owner of the bookstore, and possible author of the love letters. Though Lulu is quite tight-lipped about the past, Emmy starts learning more about Lulu, Maggie, and the world they lived in more than sixty years earlier.
On Folly Beach by Karen White is a gripping masterpiece that is really two stories in one. While the book opens with Emmy’s story, the chapters switch between Emmy and Maggie, giving readers an inside look at each woman’s journey to find love and happiness. I have yet to discover another book that kept me up for hours just so I could finish the story and feel the closure of the characters. I will say it took me a few chapters to really get excited about the events that were taking place, but it didn’t take long before I was completely immersed under White’s spell. Prepare for your emotions to run wild when you read On Folly Beach, as the writing is as real as the characters are genuine.
