The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert takes readers back in time to small-town Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s—where the Darling Savings and Trust has just closed and the women of the Darling Dahlias’ garden club are betting their bottom dollar there’s going to be trouble…
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…
Includes Southern-Style Depression-Era Recipes
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1933, Albert's quietly paced fifth Darling Dahlias cozy (after 2013's The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star) works better as a portrait of a Depression-era Southern town than as a mystery. When the town's only bank temporarily closes, a few of the leading citizens of Darling, Ala., devise a plan to print scrip that will keep the local economy going. Some of the ladies of the Darling Dahlias garden club are appalled, but Verna Tidwell sees merit in the scheme and in the new bank vice-president, Alvin Duffy. Meanwhile, Liz Lacy and Fannie Champaign are distracted by romantic problems. Moonshine and a single-minded revenue agent add to Darling's woes, and a shooting and the disappearance of a satchel of scrip raise alarms. Solving these crimes falls to others, but the Dahlias might have a way to save the town. The authentic historic setting makes up for the lack of tension.
