Miss Julia Takes the Wheel by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia Takes the Wheel by Ann B. Ross --- 310 pages

When Doctor Bob Hargrove goes on an extended European vacation with his wife, leaving a locum tenens to hold the fort, Miss Julia visualizes all kinds of medical emergencies. But, never one to miss an opportunity to entertain, she invites Dr. Don Crawford and his painfully shy wife, Lauren, to dinner. While Miss Julia and Sam bemoan Lauren's lack of social skills, it's Hazel Marie and Binkie who pick up on some of the doctor's less amiable qualities.

Meanwhile, Lloyd has gotten his first car and is juggling three invitations to the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance. LuAnne Conover, newly divorced, has started a job at the Good Shepherd Funeral Home and is in urgent need of an occupation-appropriate makeover. And Julia's next-door neighbor, Mildred Allen, commandeers Miss Julia and Lloyd's services as chauffeurs to visit her husband at a rehabilitation center outside town. Miss Julia has more immediate concerns than the new doctor and his wife. Yet there is something niggling at her about the Crawfords, something just not right --- and being Miss Julia, she won't rest until she gets to the bottom of this mystery.


Ann B. Ross delivers in this 21st installment in her cozy mystery series about Miss Julia.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

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Miss Julia Weathers the Storm by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia Weathers the Storm by Ann B. Ross --- 277 pages

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 18^th 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.

Miss Julia Inherits a Mess by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia Inherits a Mess by Ann B. Ross --- 308 pages

The 17th book in the cozy mystery series with the emphasis on the cozy rather than the mystery.

When Miss Mattie Freeman breaks her hip in a fall in her apartment and winds up in the hospital, Miss Julia is stunned to discover that Mattie, with no known living relatives, has given Miss Julia power of attorney to handle her affairs. Julia’s sense of duty requires her to accept responsibility for an elderly woman she never considered more than an acquaintance. But when Mattie dies of her injuries, Julia learns she also designated Miss Julia as the executor of her estate.  Miss Mattie's will goes on to leave a number of charitable bequests, but as Miss Julia soon finds out, there's not enough money left to fulfill them, unless she can find other assets hidden in Mattie's jumbled and overstuffed apartment.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from the author's local newspaper, the Wilmington NC Star News.

Miss Julia Lays Down the Law by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia Lays Down the Law by Ann B.Ross --- 307 pages

The 15th book in the popular Southern cozy series set in the picturesque but fictional town of Abbortville, North Carolina. Connie Clayborn, a know-it-all newcomer, has all the local ladies, including Miss Julia, in an uproar over her proposals to redevelop Abbotsville and make it a tourist destination. But before Connie can harangue the ladies into action, she is found dead in her own kitchen by none other than Miss Julia herself, who had gone to see Connie at the behest of Pastor Ledbetter, whose wife, Emma Sue, has been overset by Connie's strictures.

Much to her dismay, Miss Julia finds herself heading the list of suspects, and is hampered in clearing her name by a promise of confidentiality she rashly gave to Pastor Ledbetter, who has now taken to avoiding her. 

With her husband Sam called out of town, and her lawyer, Binkie, preoccupied --- Binkie's husband Coleman is proposing to raise funds for a local charity by spending several days camped outdoors on top of a billboard by the highway --- Miss Julia is left to cope on her own.  She decides to conduct her own investigation with the assistance of an amiable vagrant. Unfortunately her efforts only land her in deeper trouble, from which she manages to extricate herself only after much hilarity.

Click HERE to read a review from the Asheville, North Carolina paper.

Click HERE to read a review from Kirkus.

Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B. Ross

Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B. Ross --- 308 pages

Ann B. Ross, author of the best-selling Miss Julia series, here takes a slight detour off the main route of her series to give some credit where it's due to Etta Mae Wiggins, the manager of Miss Julia's trailer park property over in Denton, who has loyally followed when Miss Julia has called for back-up and assistance in her various adventures over the past fifteen books in the series.

Here we get the scoop on Etta Mae's story and her struggles to improve her lot in life. For although born to a hardscrabble existence, Etta Mae has worked hard to rise in the world. And in spite of too many people who continue to look down their noses at her and assume the worst, Etta Mae continues to follow the promptings of her kind heart and hope for the best.

It's a wild ride back to the early days of Etta Mae's acquaintance with Miss Julia and a tale of a surprisingly tender May-December romance. The humor is as juicy as southern fried chicken, so sit back and enjoy!

The next Miss Julia adventure, Miss Julia Lays Down the Law, is scheduled for release in April 2015.

Click HERE to find out more about Ann Ross and Miss Julia.

Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover by Ann. B. Ross --- 297 pages

It's summertime in Abbotsville, and Miss Julia is ready to sit back and enjoy her newly renovated house and the happiness of her nearest and dearest. But fate just doesn't seem prepared to allow Miss Julia to relax.

First her husband Sam decides to run for political office, and then her overbearing cousin Elsie sends her granddaughter Trixie to stay with Miss Julia without a by-your-leave. Trixie arrives with orders from her Meemaw to pull herself together and find a husband. Miss Julia is both fascinated and appalled. Much to her surprise, Trixie manages to attract the attentions of Rodney Pace, a man who has chosen the mortuary business as a career because it's recession-proof. But Miss Julia questions whether Rodney is really more interested in Trixie as a future wife or in a piece of property Miss Julia owns as a future mortuary site. What with one thing and the next, it turns out to be a very busy summer for Miss Julia!

Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble by Ann B. Ross --- 354 pages

Thirteenth entry in the Miss Julia series, set in the fictitious small town of Abbotsville, North Carolina.

When Hazel Marie and Mr. Pickens' houseman, James, falls down the stairs, breaking his wrist and spraining his ankle, Miss Julia goes into crisis mode. How on earth will Hazel Marie manage to take care of her husband, teenage son and twin baby daughters, and look after James, when she has only the haziest notions of housekeeping and can't boil water without setting the stove on fire?

Miss Julia's solution is to call on the ladies of Abbotsville to help Hazel Marie learn how to cook. Each one will provide some easy recipes that Miss Julia will compile in a book, and come to the house to show Hazel Marie just how to prepare them. Miss Julia considers that if Hazel Marie can keep her family --- especially her husband --- well fed, the rest will follow. She's a little concerned that Mr. Pickens is already spending a lot of time away from home on his job, and he doesn't need an excuse to stay away even more.

All seems to be going according to plan until Hazel Marie's ne'er do well uncle, Brother Vernon, shows up on her doorstep, claiming ill health, and adding his tithe to the chaos in the Pickens household. Time for Miss Julia to roll up her sleeves and go to work!

Miss Julia to the Rescue by Ann B. Ross

Miss Julia to the Rescue by Ann B. Ross --- 305 pages

In this thirteenth installment of the popular series, Miss Julia is coping with empty nest syndrome. Young Lloyd will be moving out at the end of the school year to join his mother, baby sisters, and Mr. Pickens in their new home. Miss Julia's husband Sam is leaving on a church-sponsored tour of the Holy Land. Miss Julia needs something to distract her mind, so she decides this is the perfect time to embark on a home remodeling project. Of course what starts out as a small project rapidly grows larger: a new Williamsburg style "library" downstairs complete with fireplace and chimney, a new master bedroom and bath for herself and Sam, and a new office workspace for Sam.

However the remodeling project must be hastily set aside when Mr. Pickens goes missing on his latest private investigation job. Then an injured "John Doe" turns up in the backwoods of West Virginia who matches Mr. Pickens' description. Miss Julia enlists the aid of Etta Mae to help her ID Hazel Marie's husband and bring him home. But when the sheriff in West Virginia proves uncooperative, Miss Julia must don a disguise to infiltrate the hospital and smuggle Mr. Pickens out.

Back home again with Mr. Pickens reunited with Hazel Marie, Miss Julia turns her attention back to her remodeling project. But once again she is diverted by the rumors buzzing around Abbottsville, about the strange doings of wealthy eccentric Agnes Whitman and her "spiritual followers." Good church-going woman that she is, Miss Julia is not about to see the young people of Abbottsville enticed into some weird cult. Then Agnes has the effrontery to try to lure away Adam, the young contractor working on Miss Julia's remodeling job!  When Miss Julia receives an incoherent call for help from Adam, she and Etta Mae once more ride to the rescue.