The Darling Dahlias And The Texas Star (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
I have been a big fan of Susan Wittig Albert's writing for a long time, beginning with her China Bayles/herbal mysteries. But, in my personal opinion, I think her 1930s-themed "Darling Dahlias" is Albert at her absolute best! Set in Alabama, this series captures the essence of the Depression-era and small-town living perfectly, and her cast of characters, the ladies of the town's garden club, are just a delight to get to know. "The Darling Dahlias and The Texas Star" is the fourth book in this series and is a lively addition with a new mystery or two for the inquisitive ladies to solve as they prepare for their town's annual Watermelon Festival. Albert includes bits of actual history in her stories, and I was fascinated with the intriguing barn-storming lady pilot Lily Dare. First time readers will be able to jump into the action of this story with ease, and as a bonus, Albert includes era-themed southern recipes as well as beauty tips and recipes for beauty treatments from back then as well. I highly recommend this title, but treat yourself to a reading of the previous three books as well - "The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree," "The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies," and "The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose - they are all excellent tales and make for a great session of cozy sleuthing. The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star is the 4th book in the cozy mystery series about a gardening group in Darling Alabama in the 1930's. The Darling Dahlias are in charge of the Watermelon Festival this year in Darling. Liz Lacey,the club president, is the head of planning and organizing everything for a successful event. The highlight of the event will be the Dare Devil Airplane show starring Lily Dare. Lily Dare is a exotic beautiful stunt pilot who has done stunt flying in movies and is advertised as the fastest woman in the world. There will be wing walking and an air show.Lily's plane recently was sabotaged so who wants to kill or harm her? There are a lot of prospects. She is a flirt and doesn't mind having an affair with a married man. Liz and Verna try to find out who is trying to harm Lily. Another interesting part of the book was the new cook that Myra employs after her previous cook leaves to work somewhere else.This book featured Liz Lacy, Verna Tidwell, Myra Mosswell and Mildred Kilgore. So the other members of the club played a smaller part in the plot.This is the first series that when I read the first book in the series, I read the next two right after as I liked it so much. Have been waiting for the fourth book to come out. This is a gentle series about the lives of a diverse group of women in the 1930's who like to garden and get drawn into various mysteries. They are women that I would like to know if they were contemporary with us in the real world. One can sit back, relax , go back into time and enjoy the storytelling of the lives and adventures of the Darling Dahlias. It was a very good read.
What do You think about The Darling Dahlias And The Texas Star (2013)?
wasted my time with this one...written for grade school level.
—fisa
