Here are three books I recently read that I think The Pilot's readers will enjoy.

A Son of the Game

A Story of Golf, Going Home, and Sharing Life's Lessons

By James Dodson

Algonquin, 2009, $24.95

Readers don't have to like golf in order to enjoy Jim Dodson's latest book, "A Son of the Game." This is a book that focuses on the author's coming home to the South, and a changing relationship with his son, with a little golf thrown in.

Local readers will particularly like reading about places and people they know as Dodson recounts the story of how and why he came to return to North Carolina in 2005.

Parts of the book are a bit sentimental, but as any of you who have made Jim's acquaintance know, he can put a humorous spin on pretty much any situation.

And it goes without saying that he's a wonderfully descriptive writer.

Jim's book, which officially debuts in May, will be available to early birds as a part of a fundraiser for Tufts Archives. The event is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, at the Pinehurst Member's Club. A $40 admission fee entitles the ticketholder to a signed copy of the new book as well as food and drink.

For information on the fundraiser, call 235-8415.

The Sweet By and By

By Todd Johnson

William Morrow, 2009, $24.95

I simply couldn't put this book aside once I started it. In his debut novel, Todd Johnson, who will be at The Country Bookshop, in Southern Pines, at 4 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 15), has hit one out of the park as far as I'm concerned.

Johnson gets into the heads of these five women who have a connection to the local nursing home, and in the process moves them into the hearts of readers.

Margaret and Bernice are both residents of the home, Lorraine, an LPN, is a nurse there, Rhonda comes in to do hair, and April, Lorraine's daughter, is working her way through medical school. We hear Bernice's story through her letters and the eyes of the others, but the other four women tell their stories in first person.

Lovers of Southern fiction will not be disappointed by Johnson's book. It sings.

Dare to Die

By Carolyn Hart

William Morrow, 2009, $24.95

Max and Annie Darling return in the 18th installment of Hart's "Death on Demand" series.

The young couple are just about ready to make the move into their newly restored home. With just a few finishing touches to be completed, they are living temporarily at a local motel, helping out friends.

Iris, a former resident of Broward's Rock, returns, putting the town in an uproar and bringing back a scandal best left forgotten.

Before it's over, Max and Annie find that they know very little about some of the people they've come to call friends since their own arrival on the island.

Hart's books are always a good read. I also like her Henrie O. series.

Contact Faye Dasen at 693-2475 or fdasen@thepilot.com.