Miss Julia's longtime beau, Sam Murdoch, wants to tie the knot. But Miss Julia isn't about to give up her independence so easily. There are simply far too many other matters in need of her attention, such as Dwayne Dooley's plans to build the Walk Where Jesus Walked Christian theme park. Meanwhile, the whole town is buzzing with rumors. The preacher's secretary was spotted leaving a sleazy motel with the mayor's car parked nearby. The preacher's

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A family without men, the Birches live gloriously offbeat lives in the lush, green backwoods of North Carolina. In a sad and singular era, they are unique among women of their time. For radiant, headstrong Sophia and her shy and brilliant daughter Margaret possess powerful charms to ward off loneliness, despair, and the human misery that all too often beats a path to their door. And they are protected through the years by the eccentric wisdom and...

Willa Jackson of Walls of Water, North Carolina, has lately learned that an old classmate--socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood--of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored her family's Blue Ridge Madam home to its former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton, found buried beneath the lone peach tree on the property is found, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their...

The creator of the Mitford stories goes back through time to relate the wedding of Father Tim Kavanagh to Cynthia Coppersmith.

Abbotsville finds itself the scene of a heist; and Miss Julia knows there's only one man who can solve the crime. It's J.D. Pickens, P.I., renowned investigator and Hazel Marie's wayward love. When he's summoned, one thing becomes clear: Miss Julia must help set things right between them or find herself the only one who can, quite literally, deliver the goods.

Margaret Maron is The New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed Deborah Knott series of southern mysteries, including the novels Uncommon Clay and Slow Dollar. She has won the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, and American Mystery Awards. In a rare departure from the Knott series, Maron ratchets up the suspense in the dark and captivating stand-alone mystery, Last Lessons of Summer. Amy Stedman is the young heiress of a prosperous children's...

Home Fires tackles one of the contemporary South's most burning issues. When racial tension erupts in the sleepy community of Colleton County, North Carolina, Deborah is caught off guard. She is happily tending her own home fires: her simmering romance with Kidd Chapin, the house she's building on her family's land, and her campaign for reelection as district judge. But then the first black church is burned, and all of Deborah's alarms go off. Narrator...

After seventeen-year-old Samuel "Sooley" Sooleymon receives a college scholarship to play basketball for North Carolina Central, he moves to Durham from his native, war-torn South Sudan, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season, but Sooley has a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America, working tirelessly on his game until he dominates everyone in practice, and when Sooley is called...

Sometimes even Miss Julia wants to hide under the covers. Her husband, Sam, wants them to attend marriage enrichment classes. Even worse, the psychologist leading the sessions is Fred Fowler, a man she could go forever without seeing again and would rather not introduce to Sam. But Miss Julia can't stay hidden for long. Someone has knocked Francie Pitts in the head and put her in the hospital. Francie didn't see her attacker, but she recognized their...