Folly Beach

"After all, this was the Lowcountry, where impossible becomes possible every single day."

Dorothy Heyward married the man she loved and spent the rest of her life loving him and building him up.  To the best of our knowledge, she died a happy woman.  Cate married Addison and spent her life being the wife she thought he wanted.  When Addison abruptly takes his own life, Cate learns many things about his life that she didn't know.  Her whole life gets turned upside down and she's left with practically nothing.  She flees home to take time to reassess her life.  She finds Dorothy, friends, family, and even herself.

I love Dottie's books, I really do.  I go back to them over and over again because they are fun to read and I have laughed out loud over them.  That said, I have mixed feelings about her latest novel.  This book is not written in the same format as her other books.I applaud her for trying something new.  She wants to play with her work, that's fine.  Unfortunately, I don't think she pulled it off.  I liked the story set in present times.  I liked the story set in the past.  I did not like how she tried to weave the two together.  There were too many coincidences or things left unexplained.  I do intend to read it again when I have the time because I'd like to give it another chance.  And as I said, I like the two stories.  The modern one is very much in line with her other stories.  The second story line is convincing as well.  For now, the Ruminating Reader gives Folly Beach four out of five pieces of bacon.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes her other works.  If you haven't read anything by Benton-Frank, I suggest Sullivan's Island as your introductory novel.


Dorothea Benton Frank lives with her husband in New Jersey and South Carolina.  She is involved in numerous civic and art groups.  She travels speaking on writing.  She has written over ten books.

Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank, published by William Morrow