02/22/2016
Cozy fans more interested in character than plot should enjoy Ross’s 17th series mystery set in the small North Carolina town of Abbotsville (after 2015’s Miss Julia Lays Down the Law). When Mattie Freeman breaks her hip in a fall and goes into the hospital, elderly widow Julia Freeman, who barely knows the woman, is flabbergasted to learn that Mattie, who has no known living relations, has given her power of attorney. And Julia’s responsibilities to a relative stranger become even more onerous after Mattie dies of her injuries, having named Julia the executor of her estate. Julia finds that Mattie’s bequests exceed the estate’s value, and she becomes suspicious when a man calling himself Andrew F. Cobb turns up out of the blue and claims to be Maddie’s great-nephew. Ross provides plenty of local color, though some readers may be uncomfortable with the cartoonish portrayal of Julia’s servant, Lillian (“Yessum, they’s a whole box full in the pantry”). Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. (Apr.)
This year, Mother’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday, May 8th. Gifts we do not recommend: soap sets purchased from the bargain bin at the drugstore; magnets your mother gave you last Christmas; a lovingly curated album of cat photos. Gifts we strongly recommend: the books listed below (flowers never hurt, either).
Spring is in the air, the ground has thawed, and April’s literary offerings will have you digging deep, with rich family sagas that center on home and holding tight to your corner of the world in the face of change. Look forward to American-set historical novels from favorites like Anna Quindlen, Kathleen Grissom, Jane Hamilton, and Leila Meacham; […]