National Network for Equitable Library Service

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.

When the Texas Star herself--aviatrix Miss Lily Dare, the fastest woman in the world--is threatened and her plane sabotaged, the Darling Dahlias must weed through the rumors to find the truth to take down a saboteur who may be propelled by revenge.

The Darling Dahlias, a garden club of lady sleuths in Depression-era Alabama, have just inherited a new clubhouse and garden, complete with two beautiful cucumber trees. But before long, these genteel ladies must unravel the mystery about what's buried beneath one of these trees and the enigma of the dead body that soon turns up.

In the wake of the upcoming Confederate Day celebration, the Dahlias set out to solve a rash of mysterious occurrences. They're ready to tackle the secret code embroidered on a family heirloom and suss out why one local resident is acting quite strange--yet nothing prepares them for one of their own being accused of stealing county funds.

The Dahlias become suspicious of the newest visitors to Depression-era Darling, Alabama, rumored to be the Naughty and Nice Sisters from the Ziegfeld Frolic, who specialize in dancing nearly naked, and dig for the truth when one of the pair denies the association.

When a blackmailer threatens her Aunt Zoe, Iphiginia knows she can ferret out the villain. A 26-year-old vixen with the intellect to match her beauty, Iphiginia descends on London society as the dazzling mistress of the missing Earl of Masters, another supposed victim of the blackmailer. But when the missing earl suddenly reappears at a ball, Iphiginia is caught in her own clever lie.

Struggling with a meager existence on a Prohibition-era farm in Southern California and devastated by the losses of four of her children to a wasting disease, Rosa flees with her surviving children after a shattering act of violence.

Deveraux's novel follows graduate student Gemma Ranford as she takes a job cataloging old family papers for the Fraziers in Edilean, Virginia. The family is looking for clues to a lost heirloom--a stone said to grant wishes. But soon eldest Frazier son Colin becomes entranced by another gem--the captivating Gemma.

Fervent abolitionism rules the day in 1862 Water's Ford, Pennsylvania. So when the local men answer Mr. Lincoln's call to arms, wives are left behind to keep the town functioning. Fortunately, the ladies of Elm Creek Valley have an ingenious plan.

In 1766 Scotland, Angus McTern leads a life of humble respectability--until Edilean Talbot arrives, pleading for his help. Angus can't deny the ache in his heart for the beautiful heiress, so when she tells him how her fortune was stolen, he agrees to risk everything and accompany her to America in search of the thief.