Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia

Looking for a read with lots of laughs? Then you need to find the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross.

Several years ago, I needed an audio CD for my commute. The library's choice was limited that day, so I ended up with a Miss Julia book. It started out kind of slow, but I was soon hooked. I had to go back and find the first book in the series to see how it all started out.

Julia Springer was a proper Southern wife for over 40 years to the late Wesley Lloyd Springer, a banker in fictional Abbotsville, North Carolina. Just as Miss Julia is beginning to enjoy the freedom of being the wealthy widow of a tyrannical husband, she discovers that her husband was not the pious pillar of the community everyone thought him to be. His mistress, Hazel Marie, and his son, Little Lloyd, show up on her doorstep. Miss Julia had not know about either of them. (The title "Miss" is a Southern custom in some areas.)

Miss Julia, who never had children of her own, is quickly won over by Little Lloyd. Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd move in with Miss Julia and they soon are a family. They are joined in their adventures by Lillian, Miss Julia's friend and housekeeper, J.D. Pickens, a private investigator who becomes Hazel Marie's boyfriend, and lawyer Sam Murdoch who eventually becomes the new love in Miss Julia's life. There are also many zany citizens of the town who are recurring characters in the stories.

Believe it or not, this is a mystery series. It is the coziest of cozies. If you like your mysteries full of blood and gore, give this series a skip. The "mystery" often plays a second fiddle to the family story. But if you like to laugh, give it a try.