robinmichele's Full Review: Ann B. Ross and Karen White - Miss Julia Speaks He...
Santa was so very good to me this year. So good, in fact, that he left me a large amount of Mega bookstore gift certificates in my stocking. What to spend it on? Oh, the possibilities...
A friend had passed along a must-read list a while ago. As I was searching for titles on it to purchase, this little book caught my eye. Now as far as cover design goes, this book is dismally bland. If I were the author, Ann B. Ross, I would be mad as hell that they made my cover so BORING. I'm talking about a pale beige and white striped background with a blurry picture of an older woman standing on an ornate porch, her hands on her hips. Ho-hum. But I trust my friend and figured I could always lambast her later if the book was a flop.
And I guess I will keep my mouth shut. The book was ultimately very enjoyable. Almost riveting. But let's break it down-- shall we?
Plot
Miss Julia Springer is an elderly widow who came into quite a bit of surprising money when her banker husband gave up the ghost. There is a bit of rather unremarkable exposition that lets us know that she lives in a dreadfully gossip-filled small town and that much of her life is dedicated to serving in the Methodist church that is right across from her home. Location, location, location.
One day, a trashy blonde appears on her doorstep and drops off the deceased Mr. Springer's illegitimate son while she runs off to beauty school. Turns out that Mr. Springer had more than a couple secrets from his wifey poo.
After the initial shock, Miss Julia decides to parade the child around town like a prize pony. After all, her husband had a great reputation before he died, and letting the town see what a rake he really was seemed like a superb plan. The welfare of the child? Whatever.
The child is "kidnapped" by his self-serving, greasy televangelist uncle-- who is hoping to get a slice of the Springer fortune. Coincidentally, Miss Julia is just starting to like the kid.
From this point, the story escalates into resolution-- at times surprising, at times predictable-- it all works out in the end.
Amusing Sub Plot
Did I mention that her self-serving, greasy pastor is trying to get a slice of the Springer fortune? He even goes so far as to try to trap Miss Julia in a compromising position with a half-baked psychologist.
Mercy me!
Here is the Nitty and the Gritty
I was actually surprised and delighted by the amount of action in this book. There are some wonderful twists, and some wonderfully predictable twists, but it all balances out ok. The writing is very good and makes itself as unobtrusive as possible.
The characters are more than a little flat-- the author relied heavily on stereotype in casting her characters. While this isn't the kiss of death in this book, it is distracting. I mean really, how many "evil" religious people does one novel need? The boarder policeman, ready to save the day? The maid-- over the years they have become so close-- so why is she still so subservient to "Miss Julia"? Gag. Choke. Yes massah.
So in short, have some pretzels on hand to balance out some of the saccharine qualities and you will do just fine. This is a quick read, but fun.
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