"It looks like the music has ended for Darling's favorite barbershop quartet, the Lucky Four Clovers - just days before the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition. Another unlucky break: a serious foul-up in Darling's telephone system - and not a penny for repairs. And while liquor is legal again, moonshine isn't. Sheriff Buddy Norris needs a little luck when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County's most notorious bootlegger. What he finds upends his sense of justice." --

"1934, and Prohibition has finally been repealed. While liquor is legal again, moonshine isn't. Sheriff Buddy Norris needs a little luck when he goes into Briar Swamp to confront Cypress County's most notorious bootlegger. And it looks like the music has ended for Darling's favorite barbershop quartet, the Lucky Four Clovers-- just days before the Dixie Regional Barbershop Competition! Another unlucky break: a serious foul-up in Darling's telephone system. Fortunately the ladies of the local garden club aren't afraid of digging around!" --

National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to small-town Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s—and the Darling Dahlias, the ladies of a garden club who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty solving mysteries…
 
Just in time for the Confederate Day celebration, the Darling Dahlias are ready to plant Confederate roses along the town cemetery. Of course the plant is in fact a hibiscus.
 
The Confederate rose is not the only thing that is not what it first appears to be. Earle Scroggins, the county treasurer, has got the sheriff thinking that Verna Tidwell is behind a missing $15,000. But Darling Dahlias president Liz Lacy is determined to prove Verna is not a thief.
 
And club member Miss Rogers has discovered a secret code embroidered under the cover of a pillow that belonged to her grandmother. With missing money, mysterious messages, and the strange behavior of one resident, Darling, Alabama, on the eve of Confederate Day, is anything but a sleepy little town...

 
Includes Southern-Style Depression-Era Recipes!

It's Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles.

Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square-if they can come up with the right recipes. Charlie Dickens faces two of the biggest puzzles of his career as an investigative reporter, and one of them involves his wife. Cute little Cupcake's talent as a singer and dancer makes her a tempting target for an unscrupulous exploiter; Lizzy must enlist the Dahlias to protect her, while she herself is confronted by a romantic puzzle. And Sheriff Norris is forced to reopen a puzzling mystery that the town thought was solved and follow a string of clues that lead to a deadly situation at the nearby prison farm.

Once again, NYT best-selling author Susan Wittig Albert takes us to a place where real people have courage, respect their neighbours, and dream of doing their best, even when they're not sure what that is. She reminds us that Christmas is a celebration of friendship, community, and what's right with the world. There's nothing puzzling about that.

From the national bestselling author of the China Bayles Mysteries—the second novel in a new series featuring the ladies of a garden club in Darling, Alabama, who also dabble in digging through clues—the Darling Dahlias.

As Darling’s town librarian is fond of saying: “Naked Ladies is not a respectable name for a plant.” A lily by any other name would certainly smell as sweet—and look just as beautiful as the Naked Ladies decorating Miss Hamer’s lawn…

It seems Miss Hamer’s house may also be home to naked ladies of a different sort. Rumors sprout that the elderly recluse’s visiting niece and her friend are actually the Naughty and Nice Sisters from the Ziegfield Frolic, known for dancing nearly naked.

When a well-dressed man from Chicago arrives, asking about the mysterious ladies, the Dahlias begin to suspect it may be more than modesty that’s causing both women to lie low. Someone is covering up something sinister…

Includes Southern-Style Depression-Era Recipes!

As the country struggles through the Great Depression, the Darling Dahlias of Darling, Alabama, are determined to keep their chins up. Their garden club has a clubhouse, a garden, a flag, a weekly column in The Darling Dispatch, and members from across the social spectrum. But when a treasure trove of sterling silver is found buried under the town's famous Cucumber Tree, two of the Dahlias claim it - which leads to some very unladylike behavior.

"It's the spring of 1933 and times are tough all over. The only businessman not struggling is moonshiner Mickey LeDoux, though he still has to steer clear of federal agents. But banks are closing all over the country, and the small town of Darling is no exception. Folks are suddenly caught short on cash and everyone is in a panic. Desperate to avoid disaster, several town leaders--including Alvin Duffy, the bank's new vice president--hatch a plan to print Darling Dollars on newspaperman Charlie Dickens' printing press. The "funny money" can serve as temporary currency so the town can function. But when the first printing of the scrip disappears, the Darling Dahlias set out to discover who made an unauthorized withdrawal. Meanwhile County Treasurer Verna Tidwell questions whether she can trust Alvin Duffy--and the feelings he stirs up inside her. And Liz Lacy learns her longtime beau may be forced into a shotgun wedding. Seems other troubles don't just go away when there's a crisis. There'll be no pennies from heaven, but if anyone can balance things out, folks can bank on the Darling Dahlias.."--

The Texas Star herself -- Miss Lily Dare, the "fastest woman in the world"--Is bringing her Dare Devils Flying Circus to Darling. Unfortunately, she's also bringing a whole lot of trouble and rumors are flying. As the Texas Star barnstorms into town, Liz and Verna Tidwell offer to help bring down a saboteur who may be propelled by revenge. Before it's all over, there will be plenty of black eyes and dark secrets revealed ...

The eleven o'clock lady has always been one of garden club president Liz Lacy's favorite wildflowers, because the blossoms don't open until the sun wakes them up. But another Eleven O'Clock Lady is never going to wake up again. Rona Jean Hancock, a switchboard operator whose shift ended at 11 p.m., has been found strangled with her own silk stocking.