Dixie wanted to write a mystery, not star in one.
Having spent a good part of my life in the South, I felt right at home with some of the terms and attitudes Dixie encounters in her planned stay at Loblolly Falls, SC. Dixie is charmed, too, although she wasn't expecting to be a witness to murder when she met her landlady, Miriam, at Twin Perks to pick up the keys. Yet, that's exactly what happens. She even has notes to prove it as she was practicing her writer's observation skills by noting down human behaviors and such in a journal. In fact, she's getting some great ideas for writing while observing Greg and his family. Then he suddenly drops dead. As it turns out, he was murdered.
Although the writing at first seemed a bit choppy, it quickly smoothed out and my interest was captured. Dixie was likable and her new, almost immediate friendship with Miriam, was also likable, witty, and seemed game for anything, seemed natural. Well, almost. She wasn't quite as eager as Dixie to ask questions meant to lead them to whodunit. For a newcomer, Dixie did seem rather forward and even unthinking as she approached suspects and asked questions that made Miriam uncomfortable. Hopefully she'll fine-tune her approach in future books. Heck, even her good intentions weren't well thought out but you'll have to read the book to see what I mean by that. I liked the sparring between Dixie and her new neighbor, too, and am curious to see where that leads in the future. You'll even learn a bit about both social media influencers and flower/plant care, too.
Overall, a good start for a new series. I did find Dixie somewhat too pushy for my comfort on questioning people she doesn't even know, especially as a new-comer, but that was probably some combo of natural curiosity and her hoped for career as a mystery writer. She definitely didn't seem to suffer from writer's block. The supporting cast, as noted, seemed interesting and offer some interesting potential story lines for the future. Thanks #BookSirens for introducing me to Loblolly (I can hear that name now rolling of Southern tongues) Falls and Dixie. Looking forward to the next in the series. And, hey, I've even had fried green tomatoes. They are tasty!
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