The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Darling Dahlias Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Susan Wittig Albert (Author)

Book Description

Series: Darling Dahlias Mysteries | Publication Date: July 6, 2010

The country may be struggling through the Great Depression, but the good ladies of Darling, Alabama, are determined to keep their chins up and their town beautiful. Their garden club, the Darling Dahlias, has just inherited a new clubhouse and garden, complete with two beautiful cucumber trees in full bloom.

But life in Darling is not all garden parties and rosemary lemonade.

When local blond bombshell Bunny Scott is found in a suspicious car wreck, the Dahlias decide to dig into the town's buried secrets, and club members Lizzy, Ophelia, and Verna soon find leads sprouting up faster than weeds. The town is all abuzz with news of an escaped convict from the prison farm, rumors of trouble at the bank, and tales of a ghost heard digging around the cucumber tree. If anyone can get to the root of these mysteries, it's the Darling Dahlias.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A small Southern town blooms into life in Albert's nostalgic first in a new Depression-era mystery series. Darling, Ala., is in the midst of financial upheaval surrounding the Darling Savings and Trust, though the ladies of the Darling Dahlias Garden Club are still excited about their clubhouse, an old estate recently inherited from Mrs. Dahlia Blackstone, whose garden includes a possibly haunted cucumber tree, which might shelter a buried treasure. Also distracting the members--especially widow and probate clerk Verna Tidwell; legal secretary and freelance journalist Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lacy, and Mayor Jed Taylor's wife, Ophelia Snow--are a prison break and the disappearance of drugstore clerk Eva Louise "Bunny" Scott, the town tart. After Bunny turns up dead in a wrecked stolen van, the ladies investigate. Veteran Albert (Holly Blues) combines great period detail with surefooted sleuthing that should satisfy fans and attract new ones.
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Cozy fans will be delighted to learn that the prolific Albert—known for her clever puzzles, engaging characters, love of nature, and outstanding historic research—is debuting yet another exceptional series. This one begins in May 1930 in the small town of Darling, Alabama (population 907). The Dahlias comprise the 12 members of a gardening club dedicated to beautifying their town while struggling to survive the Depression. Even small towns can have their share of mysteries, and Darling is no exception—fortunately, the Dahlias are sleuths as well as gardeners. Before long, they are searching for an escaped prisoner and a stolen car and investigating troubles at the local bank. And then there is the mysterious death of a young woman. By the end of the account, the mysteries are solved, and readers are thoroughly smitten by Lizzy, Verna, Ophelia, Myra May, Bessie, and the other garden club members. Hints on how to stretch resources (1930s style) and favorite recipes from the period are also included. While awaiting Albert’s next garden club novel, fans should enjoy the gardening mysteries of Ann Ripley, Janis Harrison, and Anthony Eglin. --Judy Coon

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1 edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425234452
• ISBN-13: 978-0425234457
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My husband Bill and I live on 31 acres in the Hill Country of Central Texas, and have longhorn cows, sheep, geese, as well as the wild things that roam the meadows and woods. Our best buddies are our three dogs (Zach, Lady, and Toro) and our cat, Shadow. I'm a passionate gardener and am concerned about issues of global warming and energy depletion. You can find out more about the way I live in my new memoir, Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place.

I've been writing professionally for nearly 25 years, after a stint in higher education as a faculty member and administrator. When I first started writing full time, I worked in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series--yep, you got it: I am both Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon! (How cool is that?) In the years I was writing young adult novels, with Bill or by myself, I wrote over sixty books. In addition, Bill and I wrote a series of Victorian/Edwardian mysteries together, as Robin Paige.

Now, I write three mystery series: the China Bayles herbal mysteries, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and a new series (starting in July, 2010) called The Darling Dahlias, about a Southern garden club in the 1930s. Writing is not only my work, but my passion. Truly a right livelihood, and I'm grateful to have found it. I am also a member (and the founder) of the Story Circle Network, a nonprofit organization that supports women who want to write about their lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely group of gardening "Miss Marples", July 7, 2010

By 

Janet T. Balletto - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Darling Dahlias Mysteries) (Hardcover)

What a lovely series this is going to be! I can hardly wait for the next installment. Lovely ladies and I am excited to get to know them as the series progresses. I love the tips and recipes at the end. For us middle agers who remember the grandparents of those times it will bring back great memories.
Thank you Susan!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, July 10, 2010

By 

Isabelle Jolly (El Segundo, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Darling Dahlias Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is the first book of a new series by Susan Wittig Albert. It's set in the 1930s.

The 'Darling Dahlias' are members of a club consisting of a group of friends who love to garden. (Darling after the name of the town, and Dahlia after the name of the founder of the club.) They have inherited Dahlia's now rundown house and what had been a beautiful garden. As they begin to work on the place, now their clubhouse, they become involved with a ghost who haunts the gardens of the house, with an accident that turns out to be a murder, a friend who is accused of embezzling from the bank, and an escaped convict!

The people are fun to know, (even the grumps), and gossip about a possible bank failure, possible illicit affairs, and a stolen car runs rampant in the town.

Following the various women as they set about to solve the mysteries and pin down the gossip is intriguing and entertaining.

Different from the China Bayles stories, but just as good a read. I very much enjoyed it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FRIENDSHIPS AND FLOWERS, July 10, 2010

By 

ITZME "JEANNE" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Darling Dahlias Mysteries) (Hardcover)

An above average novel set in 1930 in a little town in Alabama. The Darling Dahlias are a group of women who like friendships and flowers. They are of various ages and occupations. There are three mysteries in this book and various Dahlias set out to find the answers. A very good introduction to the characters of this new series.