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Summary: Living with my character, Augusta Goodnight
Review: "Pretty is as pretty does," advises Augusta Goodnight as she admires herself in the mirror. Of course she won't admit it, but she really is quite vain. Who wouldn't be with that nutmeg colored hair and heavenly complexion? Most of us wish for a guardian angel. I created my own. It's never boring living with someone who has been around as long as Augusta - although she never mentions her age. But I know she learned horticulture from Luther Burbank and first aid from Florence Nightingale. And since she's a "temp," my character sometimes gets confused about the decade. Augusta's last assignment was during the 40's and it took awhile to convince her that sugar wasn't rationed and she didn't have to stand in line at the butcher's. I do have to watch my language. "Profanity makes you sound so coarse," Augusta says. "It can really be a pain in the ___ having somebody around who is always right, to quote my protagonist, Mary George Murphy, in ANGEL AT TROUBLESOME CREEK. But Augusta rarely makes an issue of it. Still I try not to ruffle her feathers. Like her creator, Augusta hankers for Hershey. Also, like her creator, she could stand to miss a meal. And she never seems to tire. ("Angels don't wilt," she says.) If Augusta isn't swirling to music, her foot is keeping time. Sometimes, though, I do wish she'd quit humming those old songs. I get awfully tired of "Coming in on a Wing and a Prayer."
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Summary: This is a review from Publishers Weekly's Nov. 1 issue.
Review: ANGEL AT TROUBLESOME CREEK Mignon Ballard. St. Martin's Minotaur, $22.95 (224p) ISBN 0-312-24175-5 Ballard (Final Curtain, etc.) begins a new series with a most unusual protagonist. Augusta Goodnight, who drew her last mortal breath during WWII, comes back to the living as a guardian angel, appearing just in time to help Mary George Murphy figure out the problems in her life. Mary George has been having a rough time; her beloved Aunt Caroline, her adoptive mother, has died recently under odd circumstances; she has been fired from her job; and her jerk of a fiance has dumped her ("Three weeks after that hussy aerobics instructor moved in next door to him, his mind turned to tofu.") With the unpredictable assistance of Augusta, Mary George begins rebuilding her life, while she tries to sort out what could have happened to Aunt Caroline. At the center of the mystery is a missing Bible that contains an important secret. Mary George's efforts to get at the truth lead her on an important journey of self-discovery. Along the way she is reunited with a childhood friend, who just may be an important part of her future. Ballard writes with great warmth and sassy humor. The puzzle, however, is far less important than Mary George's progress, spurred by the brash Augusta, toward happiness and self-reliance. (Nov.)
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Summary: Hushpuppies and Haunts
Review: As usual, Ballard's take on the small-town South is right on. Her infallible eye for character and ear for language help her create engaging eccentrics, colorful colloquialisms, and mouthwatering menus. Her tastes don't stop at butter beans and biscuits, however. Her penchant is for suspense, developed with puzzles of both the criminal and romantic kind. This book features the usual rainy-day mystery cast: a forlorn but spunky heroine, innumerable snoops and suspects, and a dead body or two. But the star is Augusta Goodnight, who has a knack for baking, a flair for fashion, and a halo and wings. She's not only an unusual guardian but a refreshing departure for the genre. If you're in a curl-up-in-the-windowseat-with-a-good-book mood, read Angel at Troublesome Creek.
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Summary: A humorous angel helps solve a mystery and save a love life.
Review: Fresh from the 19-40s, welcome an angel who is not above irony and a few asides. Her charge, Martha George Murphy, suspects someone pushed her loveable aunt down the attic stairs. But when the duo tries to track the villian down, evil lurks where you would least expect it. But let's not forget the fun, the good food, and a bit of romance. Here's a cozy mystery sure to lull you staying up way past your bedtime.
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Summary: A humorous angel helps solve a mystery and save a love life.
Review: Fresh from the 19-40s, welcome an angel who is not above irony and a few asides. Her charge, Martha George Murphy, suspects someone pushed her loveable aunt down the attic stairs. But when the duo tries to track the villian down, evil lurks where you would least expect it. But let's not forget the fun, the good food, and a bit of romance. Here's a cozy mystery sure to lull you staying up way past your bedtime.
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Summary: Review from Dec. 1999 issue of LIBRARY JOURNAL
Review: Mary George Murphy is depressed: her fiance cancels their wedding, she loses her job, and her much-loved adoptive aunt dies. Just as Mary botches another half-hearted suicide attempt, a guardian angel appears on the scene. Augusta Goodnight brings with her a wild sense of humor, World War II-vintage experience, and loads of common sense. She goads Mary into investigating her aunt's suspicious death and her own years in an orphanage, then provides moral support, companionship, and comic relief while Mary fends off her ex-finace. Light, bouncy prose, small-town Southern perspective and characters, and a most fetching angel make this first volume in a new series a real charmer. For all collections.
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Summary: Sweet
Review: Mary George Murphy is heartbroken when her last remaining relative dies in mysterious circumstances. When she joins forces with her unusual partner, substitute guardian angel Augusta Goodnight, she is reunited with her childhood friend Sam and solves the murder of her beloved aunt. The strength of this book is the cast of charming characters and cozy setting.
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Summary: Sweet
Review: Mary George Murphy is heartbroken when her last remaining relative dies in mysterious circumstances. When she joins forces with her unusual partner, substitute guardian angel Augusta Goodnight, she is reunited with her childhood friend Sam and solves the murder of her beloved aunt. The strength of this book is the cast of charming characters and cozy setting.
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Summary: A very enjoyable cozy
Review: Mary George Murphy's life is a mess. She's lost her job, her fiance', and now her adopted mother Aunt Caroline. Aunt Caroline fell down the attic stairs. Only, she never went up there if she didn't have to. Mary George is in dispair and decides to end it all. She is stopped by her substitute guardian angel, Augusta Goodnight. What an angel, the last time she was on earth it was the forties and she is having a hard time dealing with everything 50 years later, not that she doesn't try. She is usually in charge of the strawberries in heaven. With Augusta's help, she gets her life back on track, reconnects with an old friend, and solves the mystery of her Aunt Caroline's death, as well as a few others.This was a very sweet cozy, Aunt Dimity's fans should I really like it. I know I did.
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Summary: A very enjoyable cozy
Review: Mary George Murphy's life is a mess. She's lost her job, her fiance', and now her adopted mother Aunt Caroline. Aunt Caroline fell down the attic stairs. Only, she never went up there if she didn't have to. Mary George is in dispair and decides to end it all. She is stopped by her substitute guardian angel, Augusta Goodnight. What an angel, the last time she was on earth it was the forties and she is having a hard time dealing with everything 50 years later, not that she doesn't try. She is usually in charge of the strawberries in heaven. With Augusta's help, she gets her life back on track, reconnects with an old friend, and solves the mystery of her Aunt Caroline's death, as well as a few others. This was a very sweet cozy, Aunt Dimity's fans should I really like it. I know I did.
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