Synopses & Reviews
National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to the small town of Darling, Alabama, in the 1930swhere the Darling Dahlias, the colorful ladies of a garden club, are anything but shrinking violets when it comes to rooting out criminals
The Texas Star herselfMiss Lily Dare, the fastest woman in the world”is bringing her Dare Devils Flying Circus to Darling. Unfortunately, shes also bringing a whole lot of trouble. As the Dahlias prepare for the annual Watermelon Festivalwhere they will present the famous female aviatrix with her own Texas Star hibiscusrumors are flying.
Dahlias president Liz Lacy learns from newspaperman Charlie Dickens that Miss Dare has been threatened and her plane sabotaged. Apparently the bold and beautiful barnstormer has made plenty of enemies. And is it possible she may even be involved with the husband of one of Darlings local ladies?
And speaking of wings, the new cook at Myra Mays Darling Diner can fry a chicken and whip up a sweet potato meringue pie like nobodys business. But why is she keeping her past such a mystery?
As the Texas Star barnstorms into town, Liz and Verna Tidwell offer to help bring down a saboteur who may be propelled by revenge. Before its all over, there will be plenty of black eyes and dark secrets revealed
Includes Southern-Style Depression-Era Recipes!
Review
“Thompson vividly re-creates the gaslit world of old New York.”
Review
"Victoria Thompson SHINES...Anne Perry and Caleb Carr fans, rejoice!"
Review
"Thompson's Gaslight Mystery series provides a fascinating window into a bygone era."
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"Victoria Thompson has a knack for putting the reader inside her characters' heads and...[brings] the setting vividly to life."
Review
PRAISE FOR THE DARLING DAHLIAS MYSTERIES “Captivating…Charming characters, a fast-paced plot, and a strong sense of history help make this a superior cozy.”—Publishers Weekly
“[Albert] hits all the right notes…The plots believable, the Southern color brims with authenticity, and the characters are charmingly and realistically drawn.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Cozy fans will be delighted…Another exceptional series.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Plenty of charm and period detail.”—Kirkus Reviews
“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
“As always in any [of] Susan Wittig Alberts 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
“This sweet book captures the true tone of a small town.”—The Times-Picayune
Review
Praise for The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star: “The prolific Albert excels at the period piece, with a gracious plenitude of Southern color and Depression-era detail, and again offers an uplifting meditation on how friends, neighbors, and strangers combined to help each other during Americas darkest economic days.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Charming…[A] winning cozy.” —Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
From the tenements to the town houses of nineteenth-century New York, midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy never waiver in their mission to aid the innocent and apprehend the guilty. Now, the latest novel in the Edgar®-nominated series finds Sarah and Malloy investigating the murder of a Knickerbocker club member who was made to pay his dues… Sarah Brandt’s family is one of the oldest in New York City, and her father, Felix Decker, takes his position in society very seriously. He still refuses to resign himself to his daughter being involved with an Irish Catholic police detective. But when a member of his private club—the very exclusive Knickerbocker—is murdered, Decker forms an uneasy alliance with Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to solve the crime as discreetly as possible.
Malloy soon discovers that despite his social standing, the deceased—Chilton Devries—was no gentleman. In fact, he’s left behind his own unofficial club of sorts, populated by everyone who despised him. As he and Sarah sort through the suspects, it becomes clear to her that her father is evaluating more than the detective’s investigative abilities, and that, on a personal level, there is much more at stake for Malloy than discovering who revoked Devries’ membership—permanently.
About the Author
Susan Wittig Albert grew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she is the author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. Some of her recent titles include Widow's Tears, Cat's Claw, The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose, and The Tale of Castle Cottage. She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige, which includes such titles as Death at Glamis Castle and Death at Whitechapel.