December 2025 — Get ready to meet “The Monkey Club”—four spirited women whose laughter, loyalty, and love for adventure make life’s ups and downs one wild, unforgettable ride. In her debut novel Locked Memory Box, D. C. Hilton delivers a heartwarming and hilarious celebration of friendship that's as real, rowdy, and resilient as the women we all want in our corner.
At the center of the story is Charlee, a talented ballet dancer with big dreams—and even bigger decisions to make. But she’s never alone. Alongside her are lifelong friends, Doe, Tish, and Jude—partners in pranks and pillars of support—and together, they form The Monkey Club, swinging into action through decades of joy, heartbreak, and hijinks. From sun-soaked beach adventures to late night heart-to hearts, these women prove that growing older doesn’t mean growing apart—or growing up too much.
Set against the backdrops of the Carolina mountains and coastline, and Georgia, Locked Memory Box is a lively, laugh-out-loud, and deeply touching story about the kind friends who know your past, love you anyway, and remind you of who you are when you forget.
While The Monkey Club’s escapades sparkle with humor and heart, Hilton draws from her own experiences caring for her mother in the late stages of dementia, adding a tender undercurrent of memory and meaning. “While sitting beside my mother, I often wondered how the world looked through her eyes,” Hilton shares. “Writing this novel became my way of keeping joy and connection alive, even in the hardest moments.”
A natural storyteller with a background that includes science, theater, dance, teaching, and coffee shop ownership, D. C. Hilton infuses her writing with curiosity, wit, and warmth. Now living in the N.C. mountains with her husband, she continues to find inspiration in everyday adventures—and in the laughter that keeps friendships strong.
Locked Memory Box is a feel-good, friendship-filled novel perfect for fans of Fried Green Tomatoes, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and The Summer Sisters. It’s proof that with the right friends—especially the mischievous kind—life can be a little brighter, bolder, and a whole lot more interesting.
Locked Memory Box by D.C. Hilton is available now wherever books are sold.
