Miss Dimple Picks a Peck of Trouble: A Mystery (Miss Dimple Mysteries)
In the latest installment in this excellent series set in 1940s rural Georgia, schoolteacher Miss Dimple thinks she hears a cry for help while picking peaches but decides it was something else. Later, a young woman is discovered missing, then murdered. Prentice left behind a heartbroken ex-boyfriend whom the police believe is the killer. Miss Dimple disagrees. Eccentric Hattie mumbles about gold and seeing Nazis before someone kills her, too. Miss Dimple soon realizes that a previous death ruled accidental is also related. Under the cloud of waiting to hear news from the men fighting in WWII, Miss Dimple and her fellow teachers learn who is behind the murders in their close community. Ballard infuses emotion and empathy into a very intelligent, believable mystery. Fans of Rhys Bowen may also appreciate this appealing and engagingly written series. --Amy Alessio