Reading Corner | Latest ‘Miss Julia’ lands heroine on suspect list
Miss Julia is one of those fictional characters like Jane Eyre and Scarlett O’Hara who confronts complex situations and marches ahead to bring an equitable solution to them. Anyone not familiar with Miss Julia has a chance to become acquainted with this gritty, elderly woman in the 17th book in the series, “Miss Julia Lays Down the Law,” by North Carolina writer Ann B. Ross.
Never shy to immerse herself in controversy, Miss Julia discovers the dead body of Connie Clayborn, newcomer to the small town of Abbotsville, Miss Julia’s hometown. It happens that Connie had invited the influential women of Abbotsville to her home for coffee but didn’t gain any favor. As Miss Julia says, Connie “began to tell us what was wrong with us and what she had planned that would set us right.”
When Miss Julia discovers the woman’s body, she becomes a suspect in the mysterious death, which could be a murder, but she is determined to dispel any implications or suspicions that she had a hand in Connie’s demise. She could clear herself from the start if she had told the investigators why she happened to find Connie’s body, but she had promised her pastor, long-time Presbyterian minister Larry Ledbetter, she wouldn’t reveal to anyone what her mission was.
Her retired lawyer husband, Sam Murdoch, is off to Raleigh, N.C., for political meetings, so she is left to fend for herself. She enlists the assistance of Lamar Owens, a regular occupant of the local jailhouse, to help her prove her innocence.
No Miss Julia novel would be complete without other situations arising. A snowstorm and loss of electricity brings a host of familiar characters to Miss Julia’s house, which has a generator. Binkie, Miss Julia’s lawyer; Binkie’s husband, Sheriff’s Sergeant Coleman Bates; and their daughter, Gracie, seek warmth and electricity there. Also come to stay through the outage are Miss Julia’s housekeeper/cook Lillian and the woman’s great niece, Latisha. Hazel Marie, her twin daughters and her son, Lloyd, the offspring from her affair with Miss Julia’s first husband, Wesley Lloyd Springer, come to call as well. Of course, Lamar needs a place to stay.
When everyone goes back home, Miss Julia makes a decision. She calls Detective Ellis, an investigator on the Clayborn case, and tells him, “I’m ready to confess,” and then, “I’ve put it off long enough.” Music to the detective’s ears.
The story has a fascinating ending, one the most ardent Miss Julia watcher will not see coming.
The Miss Julia saga began in 1999 with “Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind,” and readers understand this once-widow has a specific, fundamental role to play. Her calling card is, “Better to face it than avoid it,” an appealing motto for a role model.
Jo Ann Mathews, For The Sun News
This story was originally published April 4, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline " Reading Corner | Latest ‘Miss Julia’ lands heroine on suspect list."