The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society

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This book surprised me (I was expecting a light-hearted chick lit reading). And again brought home to me the truth that we southern women are not the weak, soft little old ladies that people usually like to portray (or infer from the writings of others). The first time I heard the term "southern belle" my mind immediately went to the tough, cast iron bell that used to hang on a post in front of my parents' house. This book by Augusta Trobaugh is a reminder never to cross a genteel southern "little old lady" and never attempt to come between one and her family or her land.

From the Amazon page:

Coconut cake, grits, poisoned turtle stew and bird-watching . . . the ladies of tiny Tea-Olive, Georgia share a lot of interests, including murder. Retired judge L. Hyson Breed, a Yankee, picked the wrong Southern woman to trick, bully and steal from. The members of the Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society plot revenge after the judge’s marriage to their friend, Sweet, turns out to be a greedy grab for her land and for control of their town. To the rescue: Beulah, Zion and Wildwood (all named after hymns, as is Sweet). The only problem? The wannabe murderers are southern matrons from a more civilized generation. How does one remain polite even while planning to kill a man and get away with it?