One Beautiful Year of Normal - by Sandra K Griffith (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A must-read for fans of character-driven suspense like Liz Moore's Long Bright River and A. J. Finn's The Woman in the Window, One Beautiful Year of Normal is a gripping psychological thriller about a woman's dangerous decision to unearth her family's darkest secrets.

Some memories protect you. Others imprison you.

When August Caine receives a phone call from a Savannah attorney, she is blindsided by the news--her Aunt Helen has passed away. But how can that be, when August's mother insisted Helen died in a car accident fifteen years ago? Determined to uncover the truth, August returns to the deep South, where the ghosts of her past--both real and imagined--await her.

Plagued by a memory splintered by her father's unsolved murder when she was a child and further tangled by psychiatric treatments for the debilitating depression she struggles with, August realizes her survival depends on unraveling the mystery surrounding her father's death. This means returning to the one safe place she remembers from the childhood she has mostly locked away inside her mind: Aunt Helen's home, and the ghost tours they created together.

A chilling exploration of mental illness, mother-daughter bonds, and generational secrets, One Beautiful Year of Normal follows August as she pieces together the long-buried truths that shaped her family's tragic past and confronts the question that has haunted her for years: Can the truth set her free, or will it unravel everything she thought she knew?

Review Quotes

2025 Literary Global Book Awards Winner in Fiction - Debut
2025 Literary Global Book Awards Winner in Fiction - Mystery/Suspense

"A standout Southern family mystery filled with lush settings, dazzling characters, and chilling surprises."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The prose is melodious . . . In the psychologically intriguing novel One Beautiful Year of Normal, a mourning woman contends with invincible forces of beauty and love in the face of deceit and sadness."--Foreword Clarion Reviews

"At times moving and mysterious, One Beautiful Year of Normal is a riveting family drama which takes a hard look at unchecked psychological issues and the damage that can ricochet throughout the generations."--Suzanne Simonetti, USA Today best-selling author of The Waves of Time

"In One Beautiful Year of Normal, debut author Sandra Griffith crafts an evocative Southern tale of mystery, heartache, and the search for belonging. With exquisite atmosphere and an unflinching exploration of familial bonds, mental illness, and the weight of memory, Griffith establishes herself as a fresh new voice in Southern fiction."--Veena Rao, author of Purple Lotus

About the Author

Sandra K. Griffith is a doctorate-level psychologist with extensive clinical and forensic experience, the owner of a behavioral health agency, and an adjunct instructor at Marshall University. Her expertise in mental health, trauma, and the complexities of memory informs her deeply psychological and atmospheric storytelling. When she's not writing, she enjoys traveling, antiquing, cooking and spending time with her family, friends, and too large collection of pets. She splits her time between Kenova, West Virginia and Tybee Island, Georgia, just outside of Savannah.