Miss Julia has been known to roll her eyes when her
good-natured husband Sam gets one of his bright ideas. This time Sam is bound
and determined to rent a big beachfront house on the Isle of Palms, a barrier
island off the coast of Charleston SC, and invite all of their family and close
friends to join them for two weeks of sun and sand. However, she is reluctantly
persuaded to go along, especially since her close friend LuAnne Conover
needs a refuge while she considers whether to divorce her husband, who, she has
just discovered, has been involved in a relationship with another woman for years.
Miss Julia’s longtime housekeeper, Lillian, also needs a respite from taking care of her loquacious great granddaughter Latisha, while Lillian has surgery to remove a bunion from her foot. So Latisha goes to the beach along with the rest of the crowd: Lloyd Springer, Miss Julia’s late, unlamented first husband’s natural son; Hazel Marie and Mr. Pickens and their family; Binkie and Coleman Bates and their daughter; Etta Mae Wiggins, who manages one of Miss Julia’s properties; and LuAnn.
After a few days of fun the weather takes a turn for the
worse as a hurricane begins to wend its way up the coastline. Clouds roll in
and the waves get higher and stronger. That’s when hundred dollar bills begin
the wash ashore from a suspicious boat. Latisha’s been out every day picking up
sea shells but none of the cash. Three strangers appear on the beach, asking
questions about the money, and showing an unusual interest in Latisha’s shells. When the island is evacuated because of the hurricane, Miss Julia and
her guests have to pack up and leave in a hurry, but are then caught in a traffic jam as thousands of tourists and locals flee inland.
Finally they make it home to Abbotsville, but Miss Julia is worried that someone has followed them from the beach in a big, black SUV
with tinted windows --- someone who seems to be tracking Latisha. This 18th
book in the long running cozy mystery series may be wearing a little thin
around the edges, but the center still holds.
Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from the Wilmington NC Star News.
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