Grover's Creek

by Bobby Underwood

A sentimental and nostalgic story set during the Christmas season. Worn down by the crime scenes he's photographed for years, Nick leaves the city far behind, hoping somewhere out there is a second chance. During a snowstorm he discovers a town not on any map, which is steeped in another time. He also finds Amy, and her adorable disfigured little boy. It appears to be a kind of Christmas miracle, as though he's been led to Grover's Creek by providence. But if he becomes a part of this magical place, will he too cease to exist in the "real" world? Filled with Americana and nostalgia for a simpler time of values, and written in a deliberate homespun style evocative of a forgotten era, Grover's Creek is a Christmas reminder of all that many hold dear, despite the present day world which scoffs at them.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday, Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

235 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2012

About the author

Bobby Underwood is a prolific writer who dips his pen into the world of many genres: crime and mystery, old-fashioned noir, ethereal and old-fashioned romantic fantasy, westerns, and light science fiction. His touching romantic fantasy novellas and tender short stories are stand-alone entries, while his series detective and crime novels are best read in sequence. His influences are Elizabeth Linington, John D. MacDonald, Fletcher Flora, Jack Williamson, Robert Nathan, Zane Grey, Cornell Woolrich and Tony Hillerman, to name a few. His series include:



ROMANTIC NOIR: Holly, FANDANGO, Costa del Sol, Pink Sangría, Softer Than Rain, Down Mexico Way



SETH HALLIDAY: The Turquoise Shroud, The Long Gray Goodbye, Eight Blonde Dolls, A Candy Red Christmas, Blue Spanish Sky, A Bright Silver Sea



MATT RANSOM: The Velvet Sea, A Matt Ransom Halloween, The Tender Shore, The Gentle Tide, A Matt Ransom Thanksgiving, The Lovely Harbor, The Sandy Shore, The Beautiful Island, The Sensual Sea, A Matt Ransom Christmas, The Sapphire Sea, The Dreamless Sea, Crazy Rhythm, The Black Dahlia, Just Beyond Love, and The Romantic Shore (series finale).



NOIR SHOTS: Dangerous Crossing, One Good Thing, Where the Busses Don't Run, Not Dark Yet, Angel in the Rain, Glass Alibi, Carousel, Hornet's Nest, You Were Wonderful, She Always Loved the Sea, State Route 43, World Full of Dreams, If I Should Die Before You Wake, Hurricane, The Leafy Glade, Last Semester, Nebraska, The Kelly Martin Story



NOSTALGIA CRIME: Beautiful Detour, Where Flamingos Fly, Nightside



THE WILD COUNTRY TRILOGY: The Wild Country, The Trail to Santa Rosa, Whisper Valley -- Related Short Stories: Where the Grass Grows Green, Colton County, A Wild Country Christmas



SPICY PULP STORIES: Havana, Running Hot, Lucky Penny -- Collection of all three in paperback: Too Hot to Handle



THE TEAGAN & ALLESSANDRO ADVENTURES: The Amalfi Caper



SHERIFF JACE WILKINSON: The Idaho Affairs



His Non-Series stories include: Winsome Creek, Atelier, Beyond Heaven's Reach, Chance at Heaven, Passage to Tomorrow, I Died Twice, Grover's Creek, White Lace & Promises, Euphoria, The City, and Saturday's Children. His gathered Collections include: Outward Bound: Hope & Light (Late to Prom, Joy Island, Summer Picnic, and Atelier), Escapade (FANDANGO, Costa del Sol, Juggernaut, and Pink Sangría), Lonely Street (Night Run, City of Angels, Gypsy Summer, Requiem, Christmas Eve, Night Cry), Getaway (Holly, Down Mexico Way, and Softer Than Rain), Jeopardy (You Were Wonderful, She Always Loved the Sea, and Hornet's Nest), Too Hot to Handle (Havana, Running Hot, and Lucky Penny), Silver Screen Dreams (Beautiful Detour, Where Flamingos Fly, and Nightside), Lovers' Tide (Holly, Joy Island, Galveston, and Surfer Girl), The Unlocked Window (Dark Corridor, Slow Hot Wind, No Holiday From Murder, Johnny's Girl, I Won't Forget You, The Day Kathy Died, Glass Alibi, Voodoo Road, and The Unlocked Window), Silhouettes (Dangerous Crossing, One Good Thing, Where the Busses Don't Run, and Not Dark Yet), Peril in the Rain (Glass Alibi, Angel in the Rain, and Carousel), Matt Ransom: The Early Years (The Velvet Sea, The Tender Shore, and The Gentle Tide), Matt Ransom: Harbors & Shores (The Lovely Harbor and The Sandy Shore), Matt Ransom: Winter Surprises (The Sensual Sea and A Matt Ransom Christmas), Seth Halliday: Double Shot (The Turquoise Shroud and The Long Gray Goodbye), Seth Halliday: Candy Colored Dreams (Eight Blonde Dolls and A Candy Red Christmas), Trouble in the Wind: (World Full of Dreams, If I Should Die Before You Wake, Hurricane, The Leafy Glade, Dark Corridor), Ghost Rider: The Wyn Witcomb Saga (The Wild Country, The Trail to Santa Rosa, Whisper Valley), Trouble in the Wind (World Full of Dreams, If I Should Die Before You Wake, Hurricane, The Leafy Glade, Dark Corridor), Down Every Road (State Route 43, Nebraska, Last Semester, Endless Night, Galveston)

Reviews

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice way to celebrate Christmas Eve and Day, with reading this heart warming Christmas story, which I think would be a great Hallmark channel movie IMO. Besides being wholesome, it has the perfect name that gives that kind of quality to it. There is still an air of mystery to this story which is never quite cleared up but in reality it is unnecessary and enough is understood the true meaning. The story is about a crime photographer who has seen too much and needs to escape his present life and look to see what else life offers. I loved this story and since I started reading the stories by Bobby Underwood, I have not been disappointed!

[Gary Sites · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update--December 2024
I didn't think it was possible, but this fourth reading of Underwood's beautiful novel of Christmas brought me even more enjoyment this Christmas season. It's so full of love, hope, and nostalgia. The perfect gift for these times we live in. Christmas reading doesn't get any better than a trip back to Grover's Creek.

Update--December 24, 2023

“It’s like everything that’s wonderful, that held everything we love and long for, is captured here, in Grover’s Creek.”

This magnificent book should be a staple for Christmas reading, or any other time of year. It’s chocked full of nostalgic Americana that pleases every sense. Combining those elements with such a romantic, lovely story, Bobby Underwood has given the world a very special book that should be on the bookshelf of anyone who still has a heart. I will include it in my Christmas reading tradition, along with Dickens’ Carol, so I might find the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

Great work, Mr. Underwood! May you be blessed this Christmas, and all the year through.

Review from September 7, 2022:

Do you believe in miracles?
How about second chances?
Would you like it if the spirit of Christmas lasted the whole year through?
What would the world be like if people cared more about their fellow humans more than their own selves, and showed it by their actions?
Would you like to spend some time in such a place where people were nicer and went out of their way to make other’s lives better?
Bobby Underwood gives us such a place in “Grover’s Creek”.

“Christmas had a fragrance and feeling all its own, full of memories and nostalgia for all things dear to us in the world. It was hundreds of scents and memories, all tangled together, a deep warmth triggered by that first whiff of apple and cinnamon, mulberry, evergreen, and pumpkin pie.”

I was in dire need of something to lift my spirit, and it was as if this book kept calling out to me every time I glanced at it on my shelf. I don’t generally read books with Christmas themes before December, but I’m surely glad I picked this one up. I know the author’s work, so I knew it would be great like his other writing, but I didn’t expect it to turn out to be one of the most wonderful books I’ve ever read. I can’t even put into words what this book means to me. Perhaps it’s like the feeling I had the first time I saw Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”. If you have any kind of heart and believe in true love and miracles, you’ll feel the same way after reading this beautiful story.
I thank you, Mr. Underwood, for the joy you gave me with this treasure of a book. It will replace “A Christmas Carol” as my favorite read during the Christmas season, and also for any time during the rest of the year when I need a little help to smile.

Reader, do yourself and your loved ones a favor by visiting Grover’s Creek, where “Evergreen garland had been strung from one side of the main street to the other at about 20 foot intervals. Sizable, shiny red plastic bells hung from the center of each string, with stars strung intermittently on either side all the way across. Store windows were painted with old-fashioned Christmas scenes, some of them obviously done by children. It was the way Christmas used to be, and how most people wished it still was.”

“It’s like everything that’s wonderful, that holds everything we love and long for, is captured here, in Grover’s Creek.”

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick has seen the dark and brittle sides of life, in search of a kinder and gentler escape, he found himself in Grover’s Creek, a town said to not exist anymore. What he found was peace of mind, in a town filled with love, caring and a sense of community that could warm even Scrooge’s heart. But, is this world real?

GROVER’S CREEK by Bobby Underwood is like stepping back in time, the perfect tale for the Christmas Season! Feel the warmth of an era gone by, be reminded of the beauty of a world where neighbors knew neighbors, people were more apt to share without fear of being judged and simple love was celebrated through simple actions.

Bobby Underwood has decorated this tale with nostalgia, warm memories, and beautifully simple prose. The perfect Holiday read that allows readers to escape the rush of reality and sip on the sweetness of romance and the magic of Christmas.

Publisher: Bobby Underwood (June 19, 2016)
Publication Date: June 19, 2016
Genre: Holiday Nostalgic Romance
Print Length: 148 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect book to read during the Christmas season!

This book draws forth lovely, heartfelt images of Christmas, nostalgia for a quieter, simpler time, romance and true love, and a Christmas miracle thrown in for good measure. I had tears in my eyes several time while reading this wonderful tale (the good kind) and finished it in just two sittings with a long and satisfied sigh.

All that being said, it is not a predictable story – far from it. I never could have guessed at the ending. In fact, because Bobby Underwood is very good at his craft, there was even a moment when I thought, “No! This story can’t be going where I think it’s going!” – I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

The setting for this book (sort of – but I won’t give any spoilers) is in the WWII era, and the imagery was spot-on – including the food (uh oh… there I go, focusing on food again). I read this book, as I usually do, aloud to my husband who especially enjoyed the setting… he’s always told me he was born in the wrong era, so he especially enjoyed the setting in addition to all the other reasons to love this book.

Highly recommended as a Christmas read, but also a great book to read any time of the year for a feel-good, uplifting story that will make your day brighter.

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sentimental and nostalgic story set during the Christmas season. Worn down by the crime scenes he's photographed for years, Nick leaves the city far behind, hoping somewhere out there is a second chance. During a snowstorm he discovers a town not on any map, which is steeped in another time. He also finds Amy, and her adorable disfigured little boy. It appears to be a kind of Christmas miracle, as though he's been led to Grover's Creek by providence. But if he becomes a part of this magical place, will he too cease to exist in the "real" world? Filled with Americana and nostalgia for a simpler time of values, and written in a deliberate homespun style evocative of a forgotten era, Grover's Creek is a Christmas reminder of all that many hold dear, despite the present day world which scoffs at them.

[Christina Stovall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the nostalgia of this story. I've often day dreamed of slipping into an era for a glimpse of what may have been. It led me to imagine all sorts of "branch off" scenerios. A good read that left me still thinking of it after, as any good book should.

[Doug Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

The power and spirit of Christmas comes alive in this heartwarming tale of a man who leaves behind his career as a big city crime scene photographer, and goes in search of something that will restore his compassion for life.
The magic of love awaits him in the little village of Grover's Creek that time seems to have passed by.
This is a wonderful story to read by the fire, on a cold snowy Christmas Eve.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining relationships listening 🎶🔰

This kindle e-book novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account

He retires from the job in the city and hits the road. He is enjoying the freedom of the road. He ends up in a place that does not exist and finds 💘.

I would recommend this novella and author it you are looking for something different and strange in a novel 👍🔰. 2025 😯👒

[Kurt Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I felt myself being blown about in a different kind of storm, my landing much more uncertain than those delicate flakes falling from the sky."

And so begins the story of Nick, a 43-year-old crime photographer who has seen too much of what the modern world has to offer. Taking all the money he has in the world, he sets off to find if there is any happiness left in the world for him. And on a lonely road he finds a sign for Grover's Creek, a town that once was and is now not...except that if you are really lucky you might just find it once again!

When I first started reading this book, I became afraid it was merely going to be a paean to nostalgia, the worship of something that never really was. However, as I continued, I began to realize that the book was so much more than that. Grover's Creek is a sort of Brigadoon - a place that never did exist, but that must exist, and can exist if it is made to exist.

The story quickly grows on you as you embrace the characters and their alternate reality that they themselves doubt, but that they embrace and get you to embrace as well. I think that that is the most interesting part of the book, is how the characters are in as much doubt about their reality as the reader is, but somehow you find yourself moving into Grover's Creek along with them.

I really liked the author's grasp of old time things, that he ably uses to give Grover's Creek its reality. He obviously knows a lot sports and radio and so forth!

Yeah, I doubted this book at first, but I soon found myself swept along with it, loving it, and wishing that it was actually a true story. If you want to feel that sense of wonder that you probably haven't felt in a long time, then get this book. You will enjoy it!

[Wanda DeHaven Pyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a young crime photographer tries to leave behind a life he finds unsatisfying to seek a happiness he had seen only in old movies “made a lifetime ago,” he stumbles upon a world unnaturally suspended in time. When he arrives at the fork in the road that will determine his future, he steps “through the looking glass” into a Norman Rockwell world filled with nostalgia from an earlier time. Similar in style to Robert Nathan’s Portrait of Jennie, Grover’s Creek asks us to suspend reality and accept a world where the line between past and present is blurred.

In this world, time is not a continuum. The story unfolds more like a memory, randomly capturing life in the 1930s and 1940s as it appeared in old movies and radio shows. Seasons are confused…flowers blooming in the snow and winter picnics give the story an otherworldly quality.

The author cleverly sets the story during the Christmas season, typically a time to celebrate miracles. It is a time of promise and new beginnings─a time to transcend the burdens of daily life and believe in the innate goodness of mankind. Grover’s Creek is like comfort food for the soul. It leaves the reader longing for the simple pleasures of a bygone era. I highly recommend it for those who enjoy nostalgia and the romance of the past.

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect book to read during the Christmas season!

This book draws forth lovely, heartfelt images of Christmas, nostalgia for a quieter, simpler time, romance and true love, and a Christmas miracle thrown in for good measure. I had tears in my eyes several time while reading this wonderful tale (the good kind) and finished it in just two sittings with a long and satisfied sigh.

All that being said, it is not a predictable story – far from it. I never could have guessed at the ending. In fact, because Bobby Underwood is very good at his craft, there was even a moment when I thought, “No! This story can’t be going where I think it’s going!” – I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

The setting for this book (sort of – but I won’t give any spoilers) is in the WWII era, and the imagery was spot-on – including the food (uh oh… there I go, focusing on food again). I read this book, as I usually do, aloud to my husband who especially enjoyed the setting… he’s always told me he was born in the wrong era, so he especially enjoyed the setting in addition to all the other reasons to love this book.

Highly recommended as a Christmas read, but also a great book to read any time of the year for a feel-good, uplifting story that will make your day brighter.

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sentimental and nostalgic story set during the Christmas season. Worn down by the crime scenes he's photographed for years, Nick leaves the city far behind, hoping somewhere out there is a second chance. During a snowstorm he discovers a town not on any map, which is steeped in another time. He also finds Amy, and her adorable disfigured little boy. It appears to be a kind of Christmas miracle, as though he's been led to Grover's Creek by providence. But if he becomes a part of this magical place, will he too cease to exist in the "real" world? Filled with Americana and nostalgia for a simpler time of values, and written in a deliberate homespun style evocative of a forgotten era, Grover's Creek is a Christmas reminder of all that many hold dear, despite the present day world which scoffs at them.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story borrows from timeless classics like Lost Horizon and Outward Bound, but pales in comparison. Grover's Creek is about a man who quits his job as a homicide photographer and starts driving aimlessly in search of fulfillment. He comes across a town called Grover's Creek which the locals say dried up after the war, but for Nick, the town is real and the people there conjure nostalgia so heavy that he doesn't want to leave.

While it is better than another book I read by Underwood, this book falls short due to the lack of relationship development. It seems that all of the characters look at each other once and suddenly they've been friends for years. While I can rationalize being kind to a stranger during Christmastime (maybe Nick looked hungry and that's why Gillian invited him to dinner), I simply don't believe that a woman would invite a stranger into her home to stay for an open-ended amount of time with no strings attached especially when she has a young son to care for. It is also completely illogical that her father wouldn't be suspicious of this drifter simply because the guy bought him some tobacco. (If it were that easy, serial killers would have a field day!) This story lacks logic in so many places, the story, which could have been charming, becomes laughable, repetative and frustrating. (Really, who has a picnic in the middle of winter?!)

You could make a drinking game of the frequency the words "warm" and "cozy" are used. Just because they're said, that doesn't mean the reader will feel them without proper descriptions and story construction. Readers could also get themselves drunk on the amount of times Underwood talks about food. Chocolate chip cookies and apple pie and beef stew and pot roast, oh my! After the events of this story, and Nick's constant willingness to "squeeze more in," there is no way he finished the story no less than 25 pounds heavier than when he started.

Grover's Creek is full of what my husband refers to as "workin' hard, hardly workin'" humor. It's corny and cliche and inspires groans rather than chuckles. And the text definitely needs some editing.

In spite of the flaws, there are moments that are quietly moving, especially the scene when the pastor has the congregation spend Christmas Eve sharing their favorite memories of Christmas. However, these good pieces are much too infrequent to make this worth your time.

[OldBird · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of the disillusioned man Nick straying into a different place and time, finding love and acceptance to lift the gloom from his heart. However I didn't think either the fantasy or romance elements were really that engaging. Relationships appear out of nowhere, and while I could have written this off as being part of the magical charm of Grover's Creek we're not even offered any kind of paranormal it was fated kind of argument.

There's a lot more time spent listing the frightening amount of foodstuffs or referencing cars types and radio shows that, unless you're very familiar with these things, don't give you much else to go on. It feels like it'd appeal to small-c conservative readers who don't mind the odd rose-tinted patronising tone towards women (who gossip, like all women do).

Yes it does it's job of evoking a cosy, more masculine-voiced version of a chick-lit story. But I just felt like I was waiting for something to happen. The faint unease generated by Nick's musings on the time-slip scenario never really came to anything, and the insta-romance never really felt emotional.

The writing style's easy to read, but the story itself felt a bit of a let-down considering steady the build up.