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Summary
Summary
The country may be struggling through the Great Depression, but the good ladies of Darling, Alabama, are determined to keep their chins up and their town beautiful. Their garden club, the Darling Dahlias, has just inherited a new clubhouse and garden, complete with two beautiful cucumber trees in full bloom.
But life in Darling is not all garden parties and rosemary lemonade.
When local blond bombshell Bunny Scott is found in a suspicious car wreck, the Dahlias decide to dig into the town's buried secrets, and club members Lizzy, Ophelia, and Verna soon find leads sprouting up faster than weeds. The town is all abuzz with news of an escaped convict from the prison farm, rumors of trouble at the bank, and tales of a ghost heard digging around the cucumber tree. If anyone can get to the root of these mysteries, it's the Darling Dahlias.
Author Notes
Susan Wittig Albert was born in Illinois in 1940. In 1985, she changed careers from working as the vice president and an English professor at Texas State University to becoming a full-time writer.
During the mid- to late-1980s, Albert was a ghostwriter for the Nancy Drew mystery series. She wrote the acclaimed "Work of Her Own: How Women Create Success and Fulfillment off the Traditional Career Track" in 1992. Under the pseudonym of Robin Paige, Albert and her husband, Bill Albert, co-authored a twelve-volume mystery series set in late Victorian/Edwardian England.
Albert writes the bestselling China Bayles mystery series, which features as its main character a Texas herbalist who had been a criminal attorney in Houston. Albert also writes the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter historical fantasy series, which is set in England during the early twentieth century.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A small Southern town blooms into life in Albert's nostalgic first in a new Depression-era mystery series. Darling, Ala., is in the midst of financial upheaval surrounding the Darling Savings and Trust, though the ladies of the Darling Dahlias Garden Club are still excited about their clubhouse, an old estate recently inherited from Mrs. Dahlia Blackstone, whose garden includes a possibly haunted cucumber tree, which might shelter a buried treasure. Also distracting the members-especially widow and probate clerk Verna Tidwell; legal secretary and freelance journalist Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lacy, and Mayor Jed Taylor's wife, Ophelia Snow-are a prison break and the disappearance of drugstore clerk Eva Louise "Bunny" Scott, the town tart. After Bunny turns up dead in a wrecked stolen van, the ladies investigate. Veteran Albert (Holly Blues) combines great period detail with surefooted sleuthing that should satisfy fans and attract new ones. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Cozy fans will be delighted to learn that the prolific Albert known for her clever puzzles, engaging characters, love of nature, and outstanding historic research is debuting yet another exceptional series. This one begins in May 1930 in the small town of Darling, Alabama (population 907). The Dahlias comprise the 12 members of a gardening club dedicated to beautifying their town while struggling to survive the Depression. Even small towns can have their share of mysteries, and Darling is no exception fortunately, the Dahlias are sleuths as well as gardeners. Before long, they are searching for an escaped prisoner and a stolen car and investigating troubles at the local bank. And then there is the mysterious death of a young woman. By the end of the account, the mysteries are solved, and readers are thoroughly smitten by Lizzy, Verna, Ophelia, Myra May, Bessie, and the other garden club members. Hints on how to stretch resources (1930s style) and favorite recipes from the period are also included. While awaiting Albert's next garden club novel, fans should enjoy the gardening mysteries of Ann Ripley, Janis Harrison, and Anthony Eglin.--Coon, Judy Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
If you are ever in a mood to experience life back in the day, try this first entry in a new historical cozy series set in 1930s Darling, AL. When Bunny Scott is found dead in the wreckage of a car, some townspeople believe the beautiful tart got what she deserved. The ladies of the Darling Dahlias Gardening Club begin poking into the private lives of the townsfolk in an attempt to discover the truth behind Bunny's death. At the same time, a treasure of silver is found under the town's cucumber tree. Verdict 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. Also included are a few recipes and a list of ten ways to stretch whatever we have in a time of need. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
