The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was Phaedra Patrick’s debut novel, published in 2016. I have read several of her more recent books and was interested to go back and read the ones I had missed. I’m glad I started with this one because it was quite enjoyable.
Arthur Pepper’s wife passed away a year ago, and he has continued living with the same mundane routines he always had. On the anniversary of her death, however, he finds a mysterious gold charm bracelet among her things and embarks on a quest to find out where each of these charms came from.
As he follows the clues he uncovers, he learns a lot about the woman his wife was before they met and is himself taken on a journey of hope, healing, and self-discovery.
I found this to be a sweet and engaging story. I sympathized with Arthur as he stepped way out of his comfort zone, and I enjoyed meeting all of the quirky characters along the way. Some of them were quite ridiculous, but Patrick somehow makes them work. I also liked how Arthur’s relationship with his children changed and grew throughout the book.
I highly recommend this book, and this author. I still have a few books of hers to catch up on, and I am very much looking forward to them.
In So Many Words 