The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

By: Susan Wittig Albert

Narrated by: Peggity Price

New York Times best-selling author Susan Wittig Albert transports listeners to the summer of 1934, when a sensational murder shakes up the small Southern town of Darling, Alabama - and pulls in the ladies of the Darling Dahlias' garden club, who never let the grass grow under their feet when there's a mystery to solve. The 11-o'-clock lady has always been one of garden club president Liz Lacy's favorite spring wildflowers. The plant is so named because the white blossoms don't open until the sun shines directly on them and wakes them up.

But another 11-o'-Clock Lady is never going to wake up again. Rona Jean Hancock - a telephone switchboard operator who earned her nickname because her shift ended at 11, when her nightlife was just beginning - has been found strangled with her own silk stocking in a very unladylike position. Gossip sprouts like weeds in a small town, and Rona Jean's somewhat wild reputation is the topic of much speculation regarding who might have killed her. As the Darling Dahlias begin to sort through Rona Jean's private affairs, it appears there may be a connection to some skullduggery at the local Civilian Conservation Corps camp. Working at the camp, garden club vice president Ophelia Snow digs around to expose the truth before a killer pulls up stakes and gets away with murder.

©2015 Susan Wittig Albert (P)2015 Recorded Books

Always intriguing

I love this history lesson bottled up into a great story with some of my favorite characters. Can't wait for more of the Darling Dahlias.

A really entertaining recording.

Susan Wittig Albert always produces a story that holds the reader's interest until the satisfying ending. The reader added personality to each character by providing voice and intonation to dialogue - only a real talent carries this off effectively and this reader did it excellently! Try it, you'll like the book!

Female forward and historically accurate suspense

I've enjoyed the Darling Dahlia stories by Ms. Wittig Albert, and the narrations by Ms. Price very much, and this one kept me on the edge of my seat until the last sentence. I couldn't stop listening, it was like not being able to put a book down, except my eyes didn't hurt afterwards. I enjoy the female centric novel series and especially the setting. The era and location, being in the south, take me back to the stories my grandmothers and great aunts told me about their lives, in small Texas towns, during the depression and the dustbowl era. I always learn a little something in each book. Ms. Wittig-Albert delivers several valuable life lessons along with a history lesson in each book. She's a wonderful writer. I look forward to the next novel in the series which is sitting in my library right now! Thank you ladies, well done!

Good writer

I think the first book about Darling Dahlias was The Cucumber Tree. This is a very good series written by Susan Wittig Albert. The series starts at the beginning of the depression in the 1930's. The characters are very well described and charming. This is how to write a cozy mystery. Not a romance novel . No repetitious fact rehashing ,no blood and gore, just very interesting situations and character description. Very well done.
Also, her China Bayle's mystery's are well written, although I probably would not try the herbal receipts unless I had a café in my small town. Great writing. You will enjoy these books.
I must say I have not listen to Albert's Beatrix Potter series, but I am sure they are well written.

Excellent Plot, story reader was perfect

Would you listen to The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady again? Why?

yes, it was charming, easy listening and a good plot. The story kept me entertained and amused while curious.

What other book might you compare The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady to and why?

Her other series in Pecan Springs, the China Bayles series

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Make more books in the series

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they found the killer

Any additional comments?

Please get more books like this