Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
126th out of 235 books
—
255 voters
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (The Darling Dahlias #1)
by
Susan Wittig Albert (Goodreads Author)
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 lemona...more
But life in Darling is not all garden parties and rosemary lemona...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
July 6th 2010
by Berkley Hardcover
(first published 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,473)
This was a fun book to read. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I liked learning about the times of the 1930s and the location of the state of Alabama from the book. The mystery was a simple one yet entertaining and the way it was told reminded me of Rita Mae Brown's works. I've really enjoyed Albert's other series featuring China Bayles and the way she wrote this book seemed a different style from that series, but it was still an enjoyable one. I look forward to reading more about...more
This book started very slow, with a large number of characters introduced. The story is a light hearted mystery set in the 1930's and the main characters are a group of ladies in a garden club in a small town in Alabama. I listened to this as an audiobook as I was doing other things and it kept my mind occupied with very little complexity to the story. If I had been reading the book, I think I might have quit out of boredom in the first few chapters, but, listening, it was okay. Definately not a...more
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Berkley 2010) introduces the ladies of the Darling Dahlias Garden Club in fictional Darling, Alabama. It’s 1930, and the club has just inherited an old estate to use as their clubhouse. The garden of the estate includes a possibly haunted cucumber tree (a type of magnolia with fruit resembling tiny red cucumbers) and perhaps a treasure buried during the Civil War. The Dahlias are dedicated to beautifying their town and sharing tips to help each other su...more
You probably know by now that I have a thing about titles. I want to remember them and this one also falls into the category of forgettable.
However, if you've ever read Susan Wittig Albert, you always want to read Susan Wittig Albert. And a new series. How could I resist.
The story begins with a slow pace, lots of wonderful description (she does incredible research on all her historical novels), in Darling, Alabama in May 1930. Post depression in the south combines with the women's gardening clu...more
However, if you've ever read Susan Wittig Albert, you always want to read Susan Wittig Albert. And a new series. How could I resist.
The story begins with a slow pace, lots of wonderful description (she does incredible research on all her historical novels), in Darling, Alabama in May 1930. Post depression in the south combines with the women's gardening clu...more
I love Susan Wittig Albert. First, there is something rather endearing about her author photo; she's kind of unglamorous and apparently doesn’t give a hoot about it.
And second, she’s made me realize that I may, after all, be a person who likes “cozy mysteries.” I had no idea! I picked this up from my library’s new book shelf and brought it home--despite the fact that it’s a mystery-- because it takes place during the Depression and in a small southern town and involves ladies who garden. I didn...more
And second, she’s made me realize that I may, after all, be a person who likes “cozy mysteries.” I had no idea! I picked this up from my library’s new book shelf and brought it home--despite the fact that it’s a mystery-- because it takes place during the Depression and in a small southern town and involves ladies who garden. I didn...more
4 likes · like · see review
view all 5 comments
If you enjoy Susan Wittig Albert's books, you will probably enjoy this one. Somewhere between her China Bayles series and her Beatrix Potter series, this one is a fairly light hearted romp into a different world and time.
The Dahlias are a gardening club in the small (fictional) town of Darling, Alabama. When a friend of two of the members is discovered dead, they decide to investigate the unusual circumstances surrounding it- and the funny goings-on at the bank at the same time.
The book is well...more
The Dahlias are a gardening club in the small (fictional) town of Darling, Alabama. When a friend of two of the members is discovered dead, they decide to investigate the unusual circumstances surrounding it- and the funny goings-on at the bank at the same time.
The book is well...more
The author had fun with this book, and so does the reader. It's a real hoot! This is the first book in a new series by the familiar author of the China Bayles mysteries set in the Texas hill country and titled with the names of plants, like Lavender Lies, Mistletoe Man, and the like. This new series is set in the 1930s in the deep South. The Darling Dahlias are the local garden club, and the cucumber tree is a colloquial name for the magnolia tree growing in front of their new clubhouse. Of cour...more
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert. "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." Blond bombshell Bunny Scott is found dead in a suspicious car wreck, the ba...more
Usually I like Albert’s cozies but this one just didn’t do it for me. I hate giving up on books and I did this one. It’s not in my book count for the year. This was just so incredibly slow. I think some of it was intentional, to give it that slow southern feel. The basic plot, it’s 1930, the Dahlias, a gardening club, just got a house bequeathed to them (much to the consternation of the nephew who was expecting his aunt to give it to him). I figure he’ll end up dead or cause them problems or som...more
3 likes · like · see review
Set in the Spring of 1930, the garden club of Darling, Alabama is celebrating the life of the founding member, Mrs. Dahlia Blackstone, by renaming their club in her honor.” Henceforth and forever, the would now as the Darling Dahlias.”
The club was also left the Blackstone home and gardens to use as their clubhouse. The home isn’t too large but the gardens have been written about in the Montgomery Advertiser and the Selma Times Journal. There is also a large cucumber tree in front and another in...more
The club was also left the Blackstone home and gardens to use as their clubhouse. The home isn’t too large but the gardens have been written about in the Montgomery Advertiser and the Selma Times Journal. There is also a large cucumber tree in front and another in...more
Susan Wittig Albert is well-known for her cozy mystery series featuring China Bayles with titles such as Thyme of Death and Rosemary Remembered. She also writes a Victorian series with her husband, Bill Albert, under the pseudonym Robin Paige. If you are a cozy fan and have read any of these you will be delighted to know she has started a new series, taking place during the depression, in a fictional town in Alabama (probably based on Monroeville) called Darling, "which has 4 churches, 907 good...more
1 like · like · see review
This is the first Susan Wittig Albert book that I have ever read but it seemed a good place to start since it is the first book in a new series by the prolific author.
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree is about as cozy as cozy gets. The setting for this book is rural Darling, Alabama in 1930 and a band of middle-aged (30-55) garden club members are the sleuths. The author takes quite a bit of time to actually get to the mystery (page 95 of a 280 novel) but there are several diversions tha...more
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree is about as cozy as cozy gets. The setting for this book is rural Darling, Alabama in 1930 and a band of middle-aged (30-55) garden club members are the sleuths. The author takes quite a bit of time to actually get to the mystery (page 95 of a 280 novel) but there are several diversions tha...more
Albert's newest series features a group of women gardeners in Darling, Alabama, struggling with the Depression (it's set in 1930) and with some strange things that are happening in their small town. A young woman is found dead in a car crash, but our gals are sure that she didn't steal the car, as people are saying. A convict has escaped from the nearby prison farm. Something strange is happening in the bank, and since one of their number is a clerk there, that's of concern. And their new clubho...more
Once upon a time, I began working my way through Albert's China Bayle's series. I have an interest in herb gardening and I like a good mystery, so it seemed a good match. I made it through #6 and then tossed in the towel. In my opinion, she's exhausted her setting and her ability to create a good mystery in that setting. When I saw this was a new series, set in 1930s Alabama, I suspected it would be a good, quick read, junk food for my reading mind. I was right. Albert digs out loads of historic...more
Haven't read anything from Susan Wittig Albert before ... looks like she has written quite a few books. This book caught my eye because 1) it was first in a series and 2) the title. Sounded like it might be a fun read when I browsed the book jacket. It does start out a little slow with a lot of introducing of characters, it is after all the first in a new series. The book is set in Darling, Alabama and we meet everyone in the town in the first chapter (all right that may be an exaggeration but i...more
This is a new series by one of my favorite authors, set in 1930. Just the fact that it was set so long ago in a very racist area should mean that I wouldn't like it, but I really liked it. And not only because one of the characters is named Ophelia Snow!!
The Dahlias are women comprising a gardening club in Darling, Alabama. I really enjoyed reading this, and found that I was really immersed in the book and it was somewhat of a culture shock when I quit reading and came back to the "real world."
I...more
The Dahlias are women comprising a gardening club in Darling, Alabama. I really enjoyed reading this, and found that I was really immersed in the book and it was somewhat of a culture shock when I quit reading and came back to the "real world."
I...more
1 like · like · see review
This was o.k. Set in the 1930s giving it an interesting framework, different from her China Bayles series and just as much attention to detail. There are a host of characters, maybe too many for the beginning of a new series. I had to keep checking to see how this person now being discussed fit in. Maybe because of so many characters i didn't think Albert did as good a job of making me like the characters as she did in the CB series. Their personalities were not as clear to me. That may come w/...more
I usually chew up a cozy mystery in a day or two tops but this one started out very slowly. I think a lot of that was to intentionally give a languid, southern feel to the book but I had a hard time with the beginning and had to force myself to read a bit. However once it picked up it was an enjoyable read with one main mystery and several smaller mysteries, enough to keep everyone involved. I also appreciated the setting (Alabama in 1930) as I think depression-era stories are underrepresented a...more
It's 1930 in the small town of Darling, Alabama, and times are tough. But the local garden club, the Darling Dahlias, is determined that tough times doesn't mean that things can't be beautiful. They've just inherited a small house to use for their meetings, and they're deep in discussions for just what to do first. But before they can get started, something terrible happens: a young woman they knew is found dead and accused of stealing a car. The Dahlias know that this can't be right, so they se...more
This is the first in a new mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert set in the 1930's in Darling, Alabama. A group of ladies in the town participate in a garden club and have been recently bequeathed a cottage that they plan to use as their clubhouse. While we meet many characters from the town, the book focuses on three women in particular, Lizzy, who is single and is a legal secretary, Verna, a probate clerk who is a widow, and the mayor's wife, Ophelia. The ladies are concerned about maintaining...more
Read this as a member of the MysteryinMichigan online book group. After hearing gripes from other readers outside the group, I did not expect to like, but was pleasantly surprised and was pleased this book was chosen. It is a cozy. It is set in 1930s Alabama, and Wittig Albert sprinkles many period details throughout. Only a skilled writer can juggle so many characters and protagonists, though I argued the club as whole is the protagonist. It's frustrating that so many characters are clueless ab...more
Albert's books are usually described as "cozy" mysteries, and this is pretty typical.Enjoyable fluff perfect for a summer day when I didn't want something too deep.
Set in small town Alabama circa 1930, it has a little of the flavor of Fannie Flagg's books, but less of her snap. Mercifully, there are no talking animals here--much as I love Beatrix Potter, I prefer them talking in HER books. When I read Albert's Potter based books I skim rapidly through the animal sequences, it's her HUMANS that h...more
Set in small town Alabama circa 1930, it has a little of the flavor of Fannie Flagg's books, but less of her snap. Mercifully, there are no talking animals here--much as I love Beatrix Potter, I prefer them talking in HER books. When I read Albert's Potter based books I skim rapidly through the animal sequences, it's her HUMANS that h...more
The first in the new cozy mystery series by the popular Susan Wittig Albert. This story does a great job of establishing a number of sympathetic characters (the members of the Darling Dahlias Garden Club) and making a time and place come alive. The time is the Great Depression and the the place is a small town in Alabama. (The town's name is Darling.)The chapters are from the viewpoints of different members of the club who have just inherited a home to use as a clubhouse. One of the mysteries ha...more
Susan has done it again! This is the first book of a new series set in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s. Even though I was born in the late 40's and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so many, many descriptions Albert included in the book took me back to my childhood. There are great descriptions of gardening and plants, some of which I knew and many that I did not. I had never heard of a Cucumber Tree. While a mystery, the story is character-driven and, to me, those are the best. It...more
1 like · like · see review
Apr 11, 2013
Barbara Coast
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
cozy-mysteries,
favorites
This is a "darling" story if you don't mind me saying so! Susan has captured the time and the place of this mystery with marvelous detail. Oh the flower gardens of this little town, I can smell them now! The characters are people I'd love to spend time with gossiping and sipping a nice tall glass of lemonade with a little dash of something added in. Of course there is murder, mayhem and a few tips for managing in what were hard-times, yet Susan presents it as a charming tale that draws you in a...more
The story focuses on the town of Darling, Alabama, a southern town in the depression era. The Darling Dahlias are a group of women in the town who have a gardening club. A young woman is found dead in a stolen car and the ladies try to solve the mystery of what happened to her. Other mysteries are happening in the town at the same time: a convict has escaped from the local prison, a bank examiner has arrived to find out what has happened to some of the bank's funds, and a "ghost" is digging in...more
Read as part of the Read the USA Challenge in Goodreads.com's Cozy Mysteries group. During the early days of the Great Depression, the Darling, Alabama Garden Club inherits a house and grounds from one of its deceased members. The Depression has Alabama in its grip and money is scarce. Rumors abound that the only bank in town is about to fail. There's also an escaped convict rumored to be in the area causing residents to break tradition and begin to lock their doors, a missing woman of questiona...more
The Darling Dahlias are a gardening club in a small city at the 1930's state of Alabama. In a small town everybody knows everybody and gossip is like oxygen for them. And in this city, there's a mistery around every corner: A man who runs from the state prison, a ghost that digs during the night, money that desapears from the only bank in town and a death the might not seem what really is... well the ladies of 'Darling Dahlias' couldn't stay put and do nothing.
Very funny. Very well writte. Very...more
Very funny. Very well writte. Very...more
Susan Wittig Albert can write an amazing tale. Of her many series I believe that this one will be my favorite because we are transported back in time to a small town of steadfast women who are making do in desperate times as houses are lost, banks are failing and the Great Depression presses down on every American. The Dahlias are a group of diverse women, some kinder & more clever than others, who have a shared passion for gardening and family. Of course there is a mystery, a horrible murde...more
Another Susan Wittig Albert hit. This is a new book in a new series, which is set in the fictional small town of Darling, Alabama at the onset of the Depression.
The garden club (the Darling Dahlias)solve a mystery - this is a little different from the "usual" mystery in that multiple characters contribute to the solution, rather than one main person. I look forward to getting to know more about these women as the series continues.
Each of Albert's series have a unique voice. There is no mistakin...more
The garden club (the Darling Dahlias)solve a mystery - this is a little different from the "usual" mystery in that multiple characters contribute to the solution, rather than one main person. I look forward to getting to know more about these women as the series continues.
Each of Albert's series have a unique voice. There is no mistakin...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Susan is the author/co-author of three mystery series and other books.
WIDOW'S TEARS,#21 in the China Bayles series
THE TALE OF CASTLE COTTAGE, #8 in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter
THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CONFEDERATE ROSE, #3 in the Darling Dahlias series, set in the early 1930s in fictional Darling AL
DEATH ON THE LIZARD, the 12th and last (2006) of the Robin Paige series, by Susan and Bill...more
More about Susan Wittig Albert...
WIDOW'S TEARS,#21 in the China Bayles series
THE TALE OF CASTLE COTTAGE, #8 in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter
THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE CONFEDERATE ROSE, #3 in the Darling Dahlias series, set in the early 1930s in fictional Darling AL
DEATH ON THE LIZARD, the 12th and last (2006) of the Robin Paige series, by Susan and Bill...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
