THE BODY IN THE WARDROBE

Two cultures gently clash.

Yankee Sophie meets Southerner Will in Maine. After marrying at her mother’s Connecticut Victorian home overlooking Long Island Sound and honeymooning on Georgia’s beautiful Tybee Island, they move to Savannah, where they take up residence in a home that Will’s stepmother is renovating until they can find a place of their own. Sophie, an attorney, goes to work for Will’s father, who’s finally gotten over his disappointment that despite his law degree, Will prefers being a private detective. Culture shock sets in when Sophie starts to meet Will’s vast family and appreciate the differences between her ways and Southern ways. She loves everything about Savannah, from the beautiful architecture to the wonderful food, but with Will often in Atlanta on business, she begins to learn some uncomfortable facts about his past. Their stunning, pushy real estate agent, who’d planned on marrying Will, reveals while they’re house hunting that the bridegroom, who inherited his grandmother’s estate, is a much wealthier man than Sophie knew. Meanwhile, Will’s cousin Patty Sue plays some nasty tricks on Sophie. When a body falls out of her wardrobe and then vanishes, Sophie knows it’s time to call her dear friend Faith Fairchild, that experienced amateur sleuth (The Body in the Birches, 2015, etc.), for advice. Faith, who lives in Massachusetts with her minister husband and two children, has problems of her own. Mean girls are harassing her daughter, who’s been forced to change schools, and her husband is thinking of moving to another ministry. After several more strange events, though, Faith pulls herself away from her domestic crises and flies down to support Sophie and help her solve a series of crimes.

A paean to the beauties of Savannah with more romantic suspense than true mystery, but it’s still a charming tale filled with lively characters and mouthwatering descriptions of local food.