The New York Times bestselling author of the Cat in the Stacks mysteries is back with more of those sleuthing Southern belles, the Ducote sisters…An’gel and Dickce Ducote, busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club’s spring tour of grand old homes, are having trouble getting the other club members to help. The rest of the group is all a-flutter now that dashing and still-eligible Hadley … still-eligible Hadley Partridge is back to restore his family mansion. But the idle chatter soon turns deadly serious when a body turns up on the Partridge estate after a storm…
The remains might belong to Hadley’s long-lost sister-in-law, Callie, who everyone thought ran off with Hadley years ago. And if it’s not Callie, who could it be? As the Ducotes begin uncovering secrets, they discover that more than one person in Athena would kill to be Mrs. Partridge. Now An’gel and Dickce will need to get their hands dirty if they hope to reveal a killer’s deep-buried motives before someone else’s name is mud…
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After clearing a major hurdle in my TBR with reading books I had promised reviews on, I’m now able to split my time with several existing authors and book series that I absolutely love to read and catch up on. One of those is the Southern Ladies cozy mystery series by Miranda James. This week, I read Digging Up the Dirt, published in 2016, where Dickce and An’gel are back in action sleuthing around… who wouldn’t love two ~80ish year old sisters in Mississippi with a penchant for discovering murderous drama and a flair for keeping things in order?
When Hadley Partridge returns after a ~40 year absence, something is bound to happen in this small Mississippi town. Which of the grand bevy of older woman will win his affections? Or which of the women potentially killed his brother or sister-in-law years ago? In this truly cozy and enthralling caper, there’s a cast of wonderful and unique characters, gorgeous southern estates, and several liars! But which one is lying about more than a few ordinary things… Miranda James strikes gold in this series for me in this book by delivering a clever and hilarious plot that twists several times before you finally learn what really happened forty years ago.
James is a gifted writer who can transport you to a setting quite adeptly. I enjoy the difference yet similarities in the two sisters, but it’s the combination of their wit that makes these books sing. Often we have a single main character leading the investigation, but here, he’s got to handle two clever women who each approach the mystery from different angles. Throw in a dog, a cat, and a ward… you’ve got plenty of action going on besides the main mystery. I’m excited to catch up on this series and will be reading the 4th one next week.
If you need a fun new series with the perfect balance of mystery and town shenanigans, this is it!
I have loved the Cat in the Stacks series and since this was a spin-off, I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I found it to be fun and really good. An’gel and Dicke’s garden club is preparing for their Spring garden tour. When Hadley Partridge returns after leaving town 40 years ago, it stirs things up. First, one if the garden club board members is found dead and it is suspicious. Then remains thought to be the wife of Hadley’s brother are found on his property. After another woman from the garden club board is run off the road and left fighting for her life and An’gel is also hit and almost run off the road, the sisters have had enough. A thoroughly intriguing story and I will definitely need to read the rest of this series!!
So love this series! Having lived in the South for over 30 years, I just loved the Ducote sisters and the southern properness (and not so proper) ways. This book has us back in Athena, Mississippi, and there is major mystery, murder, and mayhem involving the Athena Garden Club. Author does an excellent job of descriptions of people, locations, and objects. Awesome character interactions and the reader can feel as if they are right there in the midst of actions! I am reading book 4 as soon as I complete and submit this review. The series is that good!
A body, bones, plus a dog and cat? This has got to be good.
I picked up this book because I was in the mood for a mystery with animals as at least side players. This book didn’t disappoint. I loved how the characters are devoted to their cat and dog. Plus, the cat was named Endora. How can you not like that? The writing flowed well and while I had to put the book down a couple times (I had to sleep!), it was easy enough to pick back up and I wanted to know what would happen next. I did get emotionally involved with the characters. I had to know what would happen and whodunit.
The mystery was tougher to figure out than I had expected, but that’s good. I tend to read mysteries to be entertained, so I’m not looking for the clues throughout. Others might unravel this story easier and that’s okay. It’s a complicated story, but moves fast and worth the read.
If you want a mystery that’s fun, then this is the book for you.
I really enjoy this series. It is clean and there is nothing graphic. The characters are wonderful and the plot kept me guessing.
The Athena Garden Club is all buzzing about the return of Hadley Partridge to town. When he left forty years ago, he was the most eligible bachelor in town, and some of the ladies want to pick up where they left off. An’gel and Dickce Ducote aren’t among them, but they can’t help but be pulled in when Hadley’s return brings up a secret from the past. When a dead body and an old skeleton turn up, can these sisters solve the crime?
It was wonderful catching back up with An’gel and Dickce. I love the characters in this series, and it was fun to see Athena from a different point of view. The story starts strongly and never slows down. I did feel the ending was weaker than it could have been, although it does tie every up nicely for us.