I saw the latest book in the library and of course came here for the lowdown. I realized it was a series and I like to start at the beginning of a run so I reserved it.

To my surprise, it has ties to western North Carolina where I worked for 11 years. I lived in Asheville and wonder if I ever interviewed the author when she was still at UNC-Asheville teaching or just met her around the region. And I'm very familiar with Hendersonville which stands as the inspiration I'm sure for Abbotsville. The book came out after I had moved back home to Cleveland but my history in the South served me well in "hearing" the voices that populate the page.

I enjoyed this especially the quick evolution of Miss Julia from her time as a put upon docile wife to a woman putting her best face forward in the world.

It's a quick read and I'm on the next book in the series.