Miss Julia has not had a lot of luck in the marriage department. Married to years to Wesley Lloyd, she discovered upon his passing that he had been carrying on for years behind her back with a bleach blonde named Hazel Marie and they together had a son, Little Lloyd, who is the spitting image of his father.
Sam Murdoch is as different from Wesley Lloyd as a man can be. He treats Miss Julia with respect, listens to what she has to say, and, he has lately revealed, he’s smitten with her and wants to marry her. But after all she’s been through, Miss Julia just doesn’t know if she’s ready to give marriage another try.
While trying to decide what she should do about Sam, Miss Julia gets an offer she’s not sure she should refuse. Dwayne Dooley, religious and full of dreams, wants to build a theme park on some of her unused property. But this isn’t just any theme park, oh, no. This is a Walk Where Jesus Walked theme park, with recreations of the Holy Land, people in costumes, sound effects, and more. Miss Julia has always been a God-fearing woman (what respectable Southern matron would be anything less?) and feels that she should hear Dwayne out, even if his methods do seem a little unorthodox.
But other things are going on as well. The preacher’s secretary is involved in some high-jinks involving a sleazy motel. The preacher’s wife is suddenly wearing make-up, something she would never dream of before. And Mildred Allen’s son Tony comes home with an announcement – he would know like to be known as “Tonya.” You do realize that these things just aren’t done.
Popping up in the middle of this are rumors about Wesley Lloyd. Miss Julia will do whatever it takes to protect Little Lloyd, and so she sets out to put things to rest before the little boy hears things he shouldn’t. While she’s at it, maybe she can figure out why the preacher’s wife is wearing so much makeup all of a sudden. And if she could just figure out what to say to Sam . . .
This installment of the Miss Julia series is a delight, with some mild language, which I didn’t find strong enough to bother me.
(This book was published by Penguin Putnam in 2004.)
Previously reviewed books in this series: