Review by Booklist Review
The Darling Dahlias garden club in little Darling, Alabama, takes on its second mystery as its members go about their ordinary lives in the fall of 1930. After finishing a workday at their recently inherited clubhouse, the Dahlias admire the border of colorful naked ladies (Lycoris squamigera) at Miss Hamer's house across the street when her niece, recently arrived from was it Chicago? emerges wearing a fancy red dress not usually meant for the day, which sets off rumors and speculation about her past. As Verna, Lizzy, Ophelia, Beulah, and the others pursue their mundane activities at diner, beauty shop, telephone exchange, lawyer's office, and boarding house, they gather information, follow leads, and set traps. Albert threads through the story her wide-ranging knowledge of plants and herbals. Her ability to use historical research to realize settings and characterizations that ring true should appeal to those seeking a simpler life, one in which there seems to be time to share a story or a slice of pie and write up frugal homemaking tips for the club's newspaper column.--Muller, Karen Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
