Miss Julia Paints the Town (Miss Julia, Book 9) [Hardcover]

Ann B. Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2008

Development threatens Abbotsville, but not for long when Miss Julia takes on the cause

When developers threaten to bulldoze the old courthouse to make way for condominiums, Miss Julia is dismayed. She enlists the help of Etta Mae Wiggins in a plot to scare off the money by exposing the town’s many eccentric characters. Abbotsville has plenty of local color of the kind not usually listed in brochures for upscale condos: Tonya’s sex change, Julia’s stint as a biker chick, Brother Vern’s evangelistic passion, and a mysterious apparition on a church wall. As if this isn’t enough to keep Miss Julia busy, she soon also discovers that several of her friends’ husbands have vanished—and her own husband seems to be as scarce as hen’s teeth. Marriages, divorces, fraud charges, and reconciliations all play out against a backdrop of Miss Julia’s struggle to save Abbotsville’s historic courthouse, her marriage, and her sanity. Miss Julia Paints the Town is another rollicking good ride for fans of the winning series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Julia Springer Murdoch has survived widowhood, scandals and her share of delightfully harebrained adventures in eight previous Miss Julia outings; here she tackles a town's worth of problems. Smarmy New Jersey developer Arthur Kessler plans to tear down the old Abbotsville, N.C., courthouse and replace it with condos, but more pressing is the fact that three of Julia's friends' husbands have decamped or gone missing, including Richard Stroud, who may have absconded with a great deal of money. Everyone's turning to Julia for advice except for Richard's wife, Helen, who's getting too cozy for comfort as she cries on the shoulder of Miss Julia's good-natured second husband, Sam. Julia rallies her friends to convince Kessler that Abbotsville is too full of Southern eccentricities for him, but those eccentricities may be too real for the plan to work. The memorably droll Ross has a gift for elevating such everyday matters as marital strife and the hazards of middle age to high comedy, while painting her beautifully drawn characters with wit and sympathy. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Yes, Miss Julia is back, and I, for one, am one happy camper."
- J.A. Jance

"Ross has a gift for elevating such everyday matters as marital strife and the hazards of middle age to high comedy, while painting her beautifully drawn characters with wit and sympathy."
-Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (March 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018643
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018642
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ann is the mother of two daughters and one son, and the grandmother of four grandsons (including twin boys) and two granddaughters, both of whom are her namesakes. When her children were in college, she decided to complete her own education, enrolling in the University of North Carolina at Asheville where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Literature. Reluctant to return to an empty nest, she continued her education by enrolling in the English Department of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned both the Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Afterwards, she taught Literature and the Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Ann's writing career began in the early eighties when two mysteries were published as original paperbacks: THE MURDER CURE and THE MURDER STROKE. A few years later, her first hardcover book was published: THE PILGRIMAGE, an adventure story set in the nineteenth century. All three books are now out of print, but occasionally a used copy of THE PILGRIMAGE appears on Amazon.com for sale.

The publication of the first Miss Julia book, MISS JULIA SPEAKS HER MIND in 1999, set Ann on a full-time writing career. This book went through six reprintings in less than a year, and was ranked #9 on the Independent Booksellers' seventy-six most highly recommended books for 1999. In addition, the book was named to the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers list. The paperback edition of the same book was listed in The Best Books of the First Five Years by BookSense, as one of the titles independent booksellers most enjoyed handselling. The book was also published by Readers Digest Condensed Books, appearing in twelve foreign languages.

MISS JULIA TAKES OVER was one of seven nominees for the Book of the Year Award (2001) by the Southeastern Booksellers Association.

All of the books in the series are available on audiotape and in large-print editions, and are also available through The Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club. All of the books, except the newest one each year, can be found in paperback editions.

MISS JULIA THROWS A WEDDING, MISS JULIA HITS THE ROAD, MISS JULIA MEETS HER MATCH, and MISS JULIA'S SCHOOL OF BEAUTY have all appeared on the New York Times Extended Bestseller List.

All of the books in the series will be published in German, Japanese, and Croatian editions, as well as on audiotape (in English) and in large print editions.

Inspiration for the escapades of Ann's much-loved character, Miss Julia, comes in all manner of ways -- a chance remark by a friend or family member, an incident she happens to see, in a dream, or by being reminded of something in her past experiences. It is always deeply satisfying to her when scenes in the book she is working on suddenly seem to fit together to make a good story. She does not outline or make detailed plans before starting a story. She does, however, have a general plot in mind before beginning to write, but this usually entails only the conflict and the final resolution, with few ideas of how they will be worked out. So, with just the beginning and the end of a book decided on, Ann relies on the characters themselves to fill in the middle with first one subplot after another. This, she says, is the joy of writing -- when a character suddenly does or says something unexpectedly, leading her to funny and surprising 'mini-scenes' that seem to delight readers.

Ann was once asked by an interviewer how she knew when something she'd written was good. She replied, "I know it's good when I fall off my chair laughing." From that response, we can be sure that she enjoys writing about her characters as much as we enjoy reading about them.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's never a dull moment in Abbotsville, N.C. ..., April 10, 2008

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miss Julia Paints the Town (Miss Julia, Book 9) (Hardcover)

... and matron Julia Springer Murdoch always has her finger on the pulse of the community. (At least, she THINKS she does.) This month something seems to be terribly wrong with MEN, especially with the husbands of some of her dearest friends. Mildred's Horace has wrecked his car and is nowhere to be found. LuAnne's timid Leonard has suddenly become bold enough to move out because he wants "some space." Emma Sue's minister husband is considering answering a congregational call in Raleigh -- without her. And Helen's Richard appears to have absconded with all the money he took from local investors, including Miss Julia. Julia's husband Sam is spending far too much time at Helen's house, consoling and advising her of her legal rights. As if matters couldn't be worse: A New Jersey developer named Arthur Kessler wants to tear down the old domed courthouse in the middle of town and construct a high-rise condo plaza in its place. Needless to say, Miss Julia once again finds herself in the middle of it all. If she's not being pulled aside to be told something in confidence, she's plotting how to distract Mr. Kessler from his focus on the town and how to win Sam back from Helen. And since Hazel Marie has joined J.D. Pickens for a quick trip to San Francisco, Miss Julia must employ the services of Etta Mae Wiggins and Poochie Dunn to help her bring down justice -- literally -- to Abbot County. All of the circumstances culminate in a Southern soiree, complete with pig roast. What a hoot!

Fans of the series will love catching up with these characters again. Newbies should be warned: they'll want to go back and read the previous eight episodes. Miss Julia's adventures are always entertaining and are worth sharing with a friend.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Back on track, April 23, 2008

By 

Holly Kincaid "Book addict" (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Julia Paints the Town (Miss Julia, Book 9) (Hardcover)

Since I thought the previous book in this series was pretty bad, and said so in my review, I need to be fair and write one for this latest one. As far as I am concerned, Miss Julia is back on track! She is quirky, funny and entertaining in this new novel from Ann Ross.

The story is set in Abbotsville with all of the town folk providing wonderful adventures (and misadventures) for Miss Julia to get mixed up in. The story is engaging and funny with Miss Julia providing her own opinion and assistance in all that happens throughout. The names of the characters alone are good for a chuckle. If anyone else was disappointed in "Miss Julia Strikes Back" and is considering not reading this lastest installment ..... all I can say is give it another chance. The book was all that I hoped it would be !

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The proper Presbyterian is in her prime!, April 26, 2008

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Julia Paints the Town (Miss Julia, Book 9) (Hardcover)

Miss Julia is always feisty, and never less so than when an out-of-town developer threatens to level the town's historic courthouse and replace it with condominiums. She and her friends band together to oppose Arthur Kessler with any means at their disposal. At the same time, her friends' husbands seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate, and Miss Julia stays busy commiserating with the abandoned wives. She becomes a bit suspicious of one of them, however, when her husband Sam begins spending altogether too much time with her in Miss Julia's opinion. This book is full of laughs and memorable scenes when Miss Julia's proper ways come into conflict with something she is determined to accomplish, despite her ever-so-close brushes with the law. This is a humorous and enjoyable series which can always be counted on for lots of laughs.