Miss Julia speaks her mind

The first Miss Julia installment was a disappointment; more 1959 than 1999. “How dare you?!” shout Miss Julia's fans!

Let me explain. I lived in a small town west of Spartanburg, SC in the late '90s very similar to the fictional town of Abbottsville. I worked for a local CPA firm and was acquainted with many pillars of the community, local business owners, farmers, average Joe's, etc. A handful of elements, such as going to church multiple times a week, rang true.

But, generally, the book was anachronistic. By 1999, even very decorous, older (even repressed!) Southern ladies would wear nice slacks with a charming cardigan. Certainly, clothing is and was more conservative than in Northern climes.

The lawks-a-mercy dialogue was from several decades ago and seemed like something that the author expected Northerners to like.

And the only black character was a housemaid straight out of 1940s movies! I'm not suggesting that every book must have some quotient of every race, but can we stop with this trope in modern fiction?

What also bothered me is that many folks in that area would be Baptist, or maybe Methodist, but probably not Presbyterian. Sure, fictional characters can have freedom of religion, but if you set the book in a certain place, you should follow along with its customs and practices.

The plot was, frankly, a mess. There were some good ideas, such as the evil televangelist Uncle and the conniving pastor, but they weren't handled well. Also, the characters and romance “development” were flat and rushed. One character that stood out was Little Lloyd-you begin to see glimmers of how this shy 9-year old may become a well-rounded character in future books.

I did enjoy that no murders occurred in this cozy mystery, though. And, there were points at which the writing had something special to it. So, despite a 2-star rating, I plan to check out the next book in the series to see if it improves.