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...
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Publishers Weekly
Two new people come to stay with elderly recluse Julia Hamer at the outset of Albert's delightful second mystery set in Depression-era Darling, Ala. (after 2010's The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree). Elizabeth Lacy and the other members of the garden club known as the Darling Dahlias are interested to learn that the visitors are Miss Hamer's niece, Nona Jean Jamison, and Nona's friend, Lily Lake, both former members of the Ziegfeld Frolics who danced nearly nude in their vaudeville days. When Nona (aka Lorelei LaMotte) denies her past and has her hair dyed brown at the local beauty parlor, residents become suspicious. And why does Lily always wear a veil? Meanwhile, a mysterious man from Chicago is going around town asking about Nona. While the plot evolves slowly, colorful characters and evocative period details will keep cozy fans absorbed. (July)
From the Publisher
Colorful characters and evocative period details will keep cozy fans absorbed.”—Publishers Weekly “As always in any Susan Wittig Albert’s series including this one, the reader feels transplanted in time and place as the meticulous interwoven tidbits bring to life late 1930.”—The Mystery Gazette
“Well-researched.”—Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Fresh from their maiden voyage (The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, 2010, etc.), members of the Darling Dahlia Garden Club solve a second crime.
In the early years of the Depression, life in the small town of Darling, Ala., is a struggle even for gardeners who raise their own food. So Dahlia stalwarts Liz Lacy, Verna Tidwell and Bessie Bloodworth are grateful for the diversion provided by two new ladies who've moved into the home of the reclusive Miss Hamer. One is Miss Hamer's niece Nona Jean Jamison, whom Verna recognizes as Lorelei LaMotte, the naughty half of the Ziegfeld Follies Naughty and Nice Sisters. Liz has her own problems when she learns that her overbearing mother has lost her house in the stock market crash and is planning on moving in with Liz. The ladies are sure there's something up when Nona Jean goes to the beauty parlor and has her flowing platinum locks bobbed and died brown. A little judicious snooping reveals Nona's connection with the notorious Al Capone. When one of Capone's henchmen arrives in town looking for Nona and her friend, who's remained sequestered in her room, the Dahlias know they're in for trouble. These flowers of Southern womanhood are a lot tougher than they appear, however, and they have a plan to rid Darling of the hit man.
Not the most difficult mystery to solve, but still literate and well-researched, with recipes and cleaning tips appended.
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