The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698185641
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert transports readers to the summer of 1934, when a sensational murder shakes up the small Southern town of Darling, Alabama—and pulls in the ladies of the Darling Dahlias’ garden club, who never let the grass grow under their feet when there’s a mystery to solve… The eleven o’clock lady has always been one of garden club president Liz Lacy’s favorite spring wildflowers. The plant is so named because the white blossoms don’t open until the sun shines directly on them and wakes them up. But another Eleven O’Clock Lady is never going to wake up again. Rona Jean Hancock—a telephone switchboard operator who earned her nickname because her shift ended at eleven, when her nightlife was just beginning—has been found strangled with her own silk stocking in a very unladylike position. Gossip sprouts like weeds in a small town, and Rona Jean’s somewhat wild reputation is the topic of much speculation regarding who might have killed her. As the Darling Dahlias begin to sort through Rona Jean’s private affairs, it appears there may be a connection to some skullduggery at the local Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Working at the camp, garden club vice president Ophelia Snow digs around to expose the truth…before a killer pulls up stakes and gets away with murder. Includes Southern-style Depression-era Recipes

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698185641
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert transports readers to the summer of 1934, when a sensational murder shakes up the small Southern town of Darling, Alabama—and pulls in the ladies of the Darling Dahlias’ garden club, who never let the grass grow under their feet when there’s a mystery to solve… The eleven o’clock lady has always been one of garden club president Liz Lacy’s favorite spring wildflowers. The plant is so named because the white blossoms don’t open until the sun shines directly on them and wakes them up. But another Eleven O’Clock Lady is never going to wake up again. Rona Jean Hancock—a telephone switchboard operator who earned her nickname because her shift ended at eleven, when her nightlife was just beginning—has been found strangled with her own silk stocking in a very unladylike position. Gossip sprouts like weeds in a small town, and Rona Jean’s somewhat wild reputation is the topic of much speculation regarding who might have killed her. As the Darling Dahlias begin to sort through Rona Jean’s private affairs, it appears there may be a connection to some skullduggery at the local Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Working at the camp, garden club vice president Ophelia Snow digs around to expose the truth…before a killer pulls up stakes and gets away with murder. Includes Southern-style Depression-era Recipes

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'clock Lady

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'clock Lady PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0425260623
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
When a telephone switchboard operator with a wild reputation is murdered, the ladies of the Darling Dahlias garden club sort out rumors from fact to identify the killer.

Reading the Cozy Mystery

Reading the Cozy Mystery PDF Author: Phyllis M. Betz
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476677271
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
With their intimate settings, subdued action and likeable characters, cozy mysteries are rarely seen as anything more than light entertainment. The cozy, a subgenre of crime fiction, has been historically misunderstood and often overlooked as the subject of serious study. This anthology brings together a groundbreaking collection of essays that examine the cozy mystery from a range of critical viewpoints. The authors engage with the standard classification of a cozy, the characters who appear in its pages, the environment where the crime occurs and how these elements reveal the cozy story's complexity in surprising ways. Essays analyze cozy mysteries to argue that Agatha Christie is actually not a cozy writer; that Columbo fits the mold of the cozy detective; and that the stories' portrayals of settings like the quaint English village reveal a more complicated society than meets the eye.

The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies

The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101516801
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
A brand-new mystery in the "exceptional" (Booklist) series by the national bestselling author. Rumors are sprouting in Depression-era Darling, Alabama. The town's newest visitors, Nona Jean Jamison and Miss Lake, may be the Naughty and Nice Sisters from the Ziegfeld Frolic, who specialize in dancing nearly naked. The Dahlias suspect more than modesty when Nona denies her association. They'll have to dig through clues to get to the root of the mystery...

Mistletoe Man

Mistletoe Man PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440673381
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In this “intelligently plotted and deliciously descriptive tale” (Publishers Weekly), national bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert tells the story of a woman’s search for justice—and of her struggle to reconcile the demands of her business with the desires of her heart… Former big-city lawyer China Bayles worked hard to make her Texas herb shop, Thyme and Seasons, a success. Now business is booming at her charming new tea room, Thyme for Tea—but China is too distracted to revel in her latest entrepreneurial triumph. When she’s not trying to spend more time with her new husband and stepson, she’s worrying about her best friend, Ruby, who just hasn’t been herself lately. To further complicate matters, China has to round up a supply of mistletoe, the season’s most popular herb. It seems an easy enough task—until her chief supplier turns up dead…

The Darling Dahlias and the Voodoo Lily

The Darling Dahlias and the Voodoo Lily PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 1952558131
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Spring, 1935 finds the little Alabama town of Darling excited about their new local radio station, WDAR. But there are problems brewing at the newspaper, where a trio of new hires causes headaches for editor Charlie Dickens. ​That’s not the worst of it, though, as the Dahlias discover when the newest resident at Bessie Bloodworth’s Magnolia Manor is found dead. She had overindulged in a large and very rich chocolate cake—but was something else baked into that cake? If so, one of the Dahlias is likely to find herself at the top of Sheriff Buddy Norris’ suspect list. That would give Darling something to gossip about! And there’s plenty more to keep the tongues wagging. Will the ladies at the new bakery ever learn to bake bread? What’s happening in Liz Lacy’s love life? Will her new book be a success? And can Voodoo Lil’s special brand of magic keep Violet Sims from taking Cupcake off to Hollywood to become a Shirley Temple look-alike? But amid all these mysteries, one thing’s for certain: The Darling Dahlias just keep growing.

The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover

The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 0996904042
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
NYT bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to Depression-era Darling, Alabama . . . ​where the ladies of the Dahlias, the local garden club, are happy to dig a little dirt! In the seventh book of this popular series, it looks like the music has ended for Darling’s favorite barbershop quartet, the Lucky Four Clovers—just days before the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition. Another unlucky break: a serious foul-up in Darling’s telephone system—and not a penny for repairs. And while liquor is legal again, moonshine isn’t. Sheriff Buddy Norris needs a little luck when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County’s most notorious bootlegger. What he finds upends his sense of justice. Once again, Susan Wittig Albert has told a charming story filled with richly human characters who face the Great Depression with courage and grace. She reminds us that friends offer the best of themselves to each other, community is what holds us together, and luck is what you make it. Bonus features: Liz Lacy’s Garden Gate column on “lucky” plants, plus the Dahlias’ collection of traditional Southern pie recipes and a dash of cookery history. Reading group questions, more recipes, and Depression-era info @www.DarlingDahlias.com “Captivating . . . Charming characters, a fast-paced plot, and a strong sense of history help make this a superior cozy.” —Publishers Weekly “The author of the popular China Bayles mysteries brings a small Southern town to life and vividly captures an era and culture—the Depression, segregation, class differences, the role of women in the South—with authentic period details. Her book fairly sizzles with the strength of the women of Darling.” —Library Journal Starred Review

The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle

The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 0996904069
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
It’s Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles. Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square—if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake’s talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter; Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her, while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved and follow a string of clues that lead to a deadly situation at the nearby prison farm. Once again, NYT best-selling author Susan Wittig Albert takes us to a place where real people have courage, respect their neighbors, and dream of doing their best, even when they’re not sure what that is. She reminds us that Christmas is a celebration of friendship, community, and what’s right with the world. There’s nothing puzzling about that. ​Bonus—Liz Lacy’s Garden Gate column on poinsettias, plus the Dahlias’ collection of traditional sweet Southern goodies for the holiday table, garnished with some cookery history. Reading group questions, more recipes, and Depression-era background at www.DarlingDahlias.com.

The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Berkley
ISBN: 0425260615
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
When the first batch of Darling Dollars, a temporary currency approved by the town leaders to help the struggling town of Darling survive, disappears, the Darling Dahlias investigate.

Rueful Death

Rueful Death PDF Author: Susan Wittig Albert
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780425159415
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Herbalist China Bayles must solve a mother of a murder in this mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert. In search of respite, China takes off to St. Theresa's Monastery with her friend Maggie, a former nun. The goal is a brief, tranquil retreat—but there's a conflict at the convent. The mother superior has recently died, and a battle over the future of St. Theresa's suggests that her sudden demise might not have been accidental. Now, China's quest for a replenished spirit takes second place to a more earthbound pursuit: catching a killer...