Jones debuts with an intoxicating if puzzling story of her dysfunctional South Carolina family, who ran a mini-empire of hotels and seafood restaurants in Myrtle Beach, S.C. "The South does not own tragedy, but it sure seems to have taken a liking to the region," she writes. To illustrate, Jones strings together half-true tales of her unconventional upbringing, bankrolled "by tourists who anointed themselves with suntan oil." She recalls how her father "left us to move to Nashville more than a few times," in search of country-music stardom, but his and her mother's dreams were quashed by her "Granddaddy," a violent, tight-fisted patriarch whose employees were "as afraid of him as we were." A notorious bootlegger, he opened a number of motels, pancake houses, and bars, where her dad and uncles worked as bartenders and waiters, and tended to arcade games. Her nana endured a lifetime of abuse at the hands of Granddaddy, until a fall left him with his "scalp cut wide open." From here, Jones gambles on a speculative climax to her family's story that fails to deliver. While her sentences are finely wrought, they can't mask a weak narrative spine. This tale of a tourist-trap childhood would make a great beach read, if it weren't for the unfocused delivery. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Apr.)

Jones recounts growing up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in this memoir tinged with folklore and history. While her sprawling low-country family made a small fortune from the tourist trade, Jones' immediate family scraped by with her father's dream of country-music stardom. One of the only girls in a family of boys and men, she finds respite with her beloved Nana but also witnesses the violence her grandfather bestows upon her grandmother, brothers, and cousins. Traditional gender roles play out in her detested pageant-circuit participation, but it is an education that she covets. These contradictions do not a stable life make and are mirrored in the tumultuous hurricane seasons that wreak havoc along the coast. Intertwined throughout are tidbits of history, local lore, and the ghost stories that propagate the area, including that of Harvey, who resides in her grandparents' house. Jones' style feels steeped in storytelling and oral tradition, which may be surprising to readers who prefer a more traditional reading experience, but many more will be lulled by her poetic and intimate prose.

In a haunting, lyrical narrative, journalist Jones depicts the history of her family, set against the backdrop of South Carolina. Interspersing stories of the ghosts who haunt the South Carolina Low Country and skeletons from her family's past, Jones crafts a gothic setting for a literary memoir, while maintaining an invitingly informal narrative voice. With a series of vivid snapshots, she charts the rise of her family's wealth as they acquired beachfront properties, as well as the hidden tolls of domestic violence and drug abuse. The author's writing shines when recounting memories of spending days and nights at her grandmother's house, as well as stories of Jones's father who tries to break (although he does not always succeed) the cycle of violence that he experienced from his own father. Threaded throughout are stories of the infamous pirates and long-suffering women who gave the Low Country its ghost story-rich history. VERDICT Jones's gift for spinning a tale is readily apparent, and her intertwining the history of the Low Country with her own familial history gives the book depth. A haunting memoir with poetic prose that will appeal to a large audience, owing to its interesting subject and skillful writing.--Stacy Shaw, Denver