Just the kind of book to read after a stressful day! I love the description of the clothing, hats, food and lifestyle of this period. Having my tea and reading about the Darling Dahlias escapades was very relaxing. ( )

Synopsis: Lizzy's mother is in jeopardy of losing her house due to non-payment of the mortgage; and Lizzy is livid, particularly since her mother has decided she can just move in with her. Violet has gone up to Chicago to take care of her sister and the newborn; Myra Mae is afraid she won't come back. Bessie still wonders, after 30 years, about her long-lost fiance. And two rather flashy women have moved in with old Mrs. Hamer; one may be her niece - or maybe not. Is the bald man who is asking questions about a platinum blond a g-man or part of Al Capon's mob? Nothing much ever happens in the quiet town of Darling.
Review: This edition of the series had some spunk to it. The story was interesting and the characters entertaining. ( )

This is the second in the Darling Dahlias series, and while it isn't quite as good as the first one, it's still pretty darn good!

There are two strangers in town, and they immediately attract the interest of the other Darling residents. Dahlias treasurer Verna Tidwell swears up, down, and sideways that Nona Jean Jamison is actually Lorelei LaMotte, a naughty burlesque dancer she saw in New York over ten years before. Nona Jean denies it strenuously, and her mysterious friend Miss Lake is never seen, leading to even more whispers about town.

Verna is an amateur detective buff, and she searches through her old copies of The Dime Detective for clues, making a connection between Nona Jean Jamison, the mysterious visitor from Chicago who suddenly shows up in Darling, and who's very interested in finding her, and Al Capone's gang in Chicago. She and Lizzy enlist the help of fellow Dahlia Bessie Bloodworth, who's the unofficial town historian, to find out what Nona Jean's true relationship is with the reclusive spinster Miss Hamer.

Nona Jean causes a stir around town, changing her signature platinum blond hair into a muddy, mousy brown, and buying beautician Beulah Trivette's worn out old cosmetology school wig. When some of the blabbermouth town gossips let slip about the mysterious man looking for her, she goes all into a tizzy - and one of those loudmouth gossips very nearly gives away the game in the middle of main street, before Verna and Lizzy swoop in to shut her up. They do put two and two together, realize what's happening, and enlist the help of the young sheriff's deputy in arresting the Chicago man before he can grab Miss Jamison or Miss Lake. The climax of this storyline is nicely written, with the black ladies and even crazy old Miss Hamer getting in on the act.

The secondary storylines are more interesting, IMO. Lizzy's mother has lost her house and just assumes she will move in with Lizzy and take over her life again - until she finally agrees to marry Grady Alexander, of course, at which time Lizzy will ~obviously~ leave her house to her mother. Lizzy has fought very fiercely for her independence, and is having none of this nonsense. She refuses to be trapped under her mother's thumb again, and comes up with a rather ingenious solution to her woes.

Another storyline that comes to the fore is Bessie Bloodworth's ill-fated romance with Harold Hamer. Her father and his sister didn't approve of the match, but they were determined to go ahead with it - until Harold just upped sticks and disappeared on the eve of their wedding. Bessie was devestated and so confused, because there had been no tension or bad blood between them. She never understood why he left her, and why he never bothered to contact her afterwards. Harold Hamer's sister is the crazy old Miss Hamer in the present day, and as Bessie digs into Nona Jean Jamison's connection to her, she discovers what really happened to Harold all those years ago. The truth was quite heartbreaking.

The final background storyline involves Myra May Mosswell and Violet Sims, who co-own the Darling Diner and the Darling telephone exchange, and share the apartment above the diner. Violet is called to Memphis to help her sister, who's having trouble as she gives birth to a baby girl. When Violet's sister dies, she's stuck there while she tries to figure out what to do with her niece and her sister's husband. Myra May is beside herself at the loss of her " best friend," and the other Dahlias scramble to get her some temporary help, running the diner and the telephone switchboard. Myra May is pretty clearly coded as a lesbian; more of her background is explored in this book, and the author all but comes right out and says it in plain English. The Dahlias don't bat an eye at them, which is nice (its always nice when there's no judgment about stuff like that), and they sympathize with Myra May. Luckily, Violet decides to return to Darling, and she brings her niece Dorothy (nicknamed Cupcake) with her, and of course Myra May is simply overjoyed to have her back. ( )

Of course a big time Chicago mobster doesn't stand a chance against the Darling Dahlias! ( )

I just couldn't get into this series. ( )