The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

This story of whimsy, friendship and secrets is a perfect read to cozy up to this fall. Set in Walls of Water, North Carolina, the book is based around the seemingly different lives of Willa Jackson and Paxton Osgood. Willa was the quiet prankster in high school, who only returned to her hometown following the death of her father and after the demise of her marriage; Paxton, of the prominent Osgood family, is a community leader who still lives with her parents and is spearheading the renovation of an old, decrepit mansion that at one time belonged to Willa's ancestors.

When a skeleton is unearthed under the peach tree on the renovation site, Paxton and Willa unwillingly come together to solve a mystery that involves both of their grandmothers, who, were the best of friends at one time until a change in fortune that saw Willa's grandmother going to work for the Osgoods as a maid. While both grandmothers are still living, Willa's suffers from dementia and Paxton's from sassiness that make it difficult for the women to string together the events that led to the mysterious skeleton.

Sarah Addison Allen writes an enchanting tale that has a little something for everyone - romance, intrigue, humor, history, murder - even ghosts. Small town history and secrets are always a hit with me...and, as always, if you are a sucker for a happy ending, you will enjoy this latest offering from Allen.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

This book is written from a unique and frightening perspective - that of an Alzheimer's patient. Author Genova, a first time novelist, holds a PhD. in neuroscience and is active with the National Alzheimer's Association, lending an air of credibility to her work.

Alice Howland has it all - she is a busy, brilliant lecturer and Harvard professor, married to an equally brilliant man. Her three grown children have all turned out healthy and are pursuing dreams of their own. Alice has begun to notice little annoyances, such as not being able to locate her glasses or forgetting appointments, which she feels are easily explained away by menopause. When she becomes disoriented when out for a run one day, she decides to visit the doctor just in case. At age 50, Alice is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.

As the book progresses, so does the disease. We feel Alice's descent into the unknown, as her husband and children try to cope with this stranger in their lives. This is a difficult book to read, not only for the sadness factor, but also because so many of us can relate to the early symptoms of the disease. Have some kleenex on hand to read this one!