The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover

January 29, 2018
In bestseller Albert’s sweet seventh mystery set in 1930s Darling, Ala., and featuring the ladies of the local garden club (after 2015’s The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O’Clock Lady), the town’s telephone system is suffering from equipment failures because half-owner Whitney Whitforth won’t chip in for repairs. More seriously, the Lucky Four Clovers barbershop quartet is struck by disaster when one of its members is killed before the Regional Barbershop Competition. Was it an accident or murder? Sheriff Buddy Norris is on the case, with a little help from Ophelia Snow, Elizabeth Lacy, and the other Dahlias, who soon find a possible link to local bootlegger Bodeen Pyle. Might there also be a connection to Whitworth’s disappearance? Along with a good puzzle, Albert provides details on such matters as Liz Lacy’s gardening column for the Darling Dispatch and how people manage when money is scarce. Fans old and new will welcome this charming look at a Depression-era small Southern town.