Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Island of Secrets

Beatriz Williams’s The Summer Wives explores the secrets of an insular community

Beatriz Williams’s The Summer Wives follows a young woman’s long entanglement with an insular island community and its coded world of secrets, gossip, and cross-cultural tensions. Williams will discuss The Summer Wives at Novel in Memphis on July 15.

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Hiding in Plain Sight

Kimberly Belle’s new thriller is a white-knuckled tale of child abduction

There are few unsavory aspects of modern life that Kingsport native Kimberly Belle doesn’t weave into Three Days Missing, a thriller that tells the heart-racing story of an eight-year-old boy gone missing. Belle will appear at Allandale Mansion in Kingsport on June 26 and at Novel in Memphis on July 9.

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Wrestling for a Blessing

Bestselling Christian writer Rachel Held Evans re-examines the evangelical teachings of her youth

In her new book, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again, Dayton author Rachel Held Evans attempts to reconcile the simple religious instruction she received as a child with the complicated reality of life outside her faith community.

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Prowling Like Maggie the Cat

In a posthumous collection, poet Diann Blakely casts her lot with outsiders

Rain in Our Door: Duets with Robert Johnson is the last and most radical collection by the late Nashville poet Diann Blakely. The book’s title is taken from the Mississippi musician’s own lyrics: “You better come on in my kitchen, cause there’s gonna be rain in our door.”

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The Lights of Evil

A seven-year-old’s disappearance sets off a government cover-up

Nashville journalist Jeremy Finley’s debut thriller, The Darkest Time of Night, features alien abduction, forced amnesia, systematic murder, and vast government cover-ups. Finley will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 26.

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The Little Devil’s Advocate

In Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted, Nashville parents navigate the perils of social media

The action of Emily Giffin’s new novel begins with a scandal that forces two sets of parents to find out how far they’ll go to protect their teenagers. Giffin will discuss All We Ever Wanted at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens in Nashville on June 23 at 4 p.m.

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