The Gardins of Edin

DEBUT Taking the biblical character Ruth and setting her at the helm of a 21st-century multinational company is the main premise of Lee’s debut novel. Ruth Gardin loves her mother-in-law, but her nieces are causing drama with the family peanut business and may even block her move to become CEO. Mary and Martha love being part of the esteemed Gardin family, but they are also trying to leave their own mark on the world. That mark may come at the cost of their physical and mental health, though, as the stress of family dysfunction comes to a head at the annual company Christmas party. Set in Edin, GA, the company was founded by the Gardins decades earlier as a refuge for formerly enslaved people and budding Black entrepreneurs, and the weight of the past both inspires and hinders the characters.