Set in Darling, Alabama during the Depression, Ms. Albert has written a series filled with Southern charm and some intriguing mysteries.
THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CONFEDERATE ROSE features two mysteries. The Dahlias are a gardening club with a lot of women who are widowed or single. Their gardening passion brings them together but their friendship keeps them working happily. Verna Tidwell, the treasurer of the Dahlias, is also the assistant to the county probate clerk.
When the current county treasurer dies, Mr. Scroggins is given the charge of the treasurers office as well. Since Mr. Scroggins is a mostly absentee employer, he delegates all the responsibility to Verna. Not only is Verna overworked, there is something wrong in the treasurers office. There are numerous bank accounts and several of them are in the county of another town. Verna hasn't had time to determine what is going on when a state auditor appears. Then a second one comes in. Before the report is returned, Mr. Scroggins puts Verna on furlough and asks for her office key.
Verna turns to the her best friend, Liz Lacey for help. Liz is the president of the Dahlias and she works for the only lawyer in town.
While all this is going on, Miss Rogers, the town librarian and a Dahlia has the only memento of her grandmother's destroyed by the tomcat taken in by one of the residents at her boarding house. She turns to the owner of the boarding house who discovers that the pillow whose cover has been shredded has more secrets to expose. There are strange symbols under the knitted cover. They go to Charlie Dickens, the owner of the local paper for help.
This was my first exposure to the series and I'm glad I got to read this book. Ms. Albert has done a wonderful job of capturing the unique characters of a small town and the charms of living in a town where everyone knows everyone else. There are some amusing vignettes of life in a small town along with the history of the era.
The mysteries were well plotted and kept my interest. The characters were likable and enjoyable. Fans of Susan Wittig Albert won't be disappointed. If this is your first exposure, you will probably want to go back to the beginning.
National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to
the small town of Darling, Alabama, in the 1930sβand the
Darling Dahlias, the ladies of a garden club who arenβt
afraid to get their hands dirty solving mysteriesβ¦
Just in time for the Confederate Day celebration, the
Darling Dahlias are ready to plant Confederate roses along
the fence of the town cemetery. Of course, Miss Dorothy
Rogers, club member and town librarian, would be quick to
point out the plant is in fact a hibiscus.
The Confederate rose is not the only thing that is not what
it first appears to be in this small Southern town. Earle
Scroggins, the county treasurer, has got the sheriff
thinking that Scroggins' employee Verna Tidwell (also the
Darling Dahliasβ trusted treasurer) is behind a missing
$15,000. But Darling Dahlias president Liz Lacy is
determined to prove Verna is not a thief.
Meanwhile Miss Rogers has discovered her own mysteryβwhat
appears to be a secret code embroidered under the cover of a
pillow, the only possession she has from her grandmother.
She enlists the help of a local newspaperman, who begins to
suspect the family heirloom may have larger significance.
With missing money, secret codes, and the very strange
behavior of one resident, Darling, Alabama, on the eve of
Confederate Day, is anything but a sleepy little town...
Includes Southern-Style Depression-Era Recipes
No excerpt available.
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