Rhonda R

In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's 10 children, but she is also the darkest complected. The Quinns - all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers - live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and her violence, but they are devoted to her. Rozelle pulls her children out of school when they are 12 years old so that they can help support her by going to work.

After the death of her adoptive mother, Ava Saunders comes upon a peculiar photograph, sealed and hidden away in a crawl space. The photo shows a shuttered, ramshackle house on top of a steep hill. On the back, a puzzling inscription: Destiny calls us. Ava is certain that it's a clue to her elusive past. Twenty-three years ago, she'd been found wrapped in a yellow blanket in the narthex of the Holy Saviour Catholic Church - and rescued - or so she'd been told. Her mother claimed there was no more to the story.

Detective Max Rupert's and attorney Boady Sanden's friendship is being pushed to the breaking point. Max is convinced that Jennavieve Pruitt was killed by her husband, Ben. Boady is equally convinced that Ben, his client, is innocent. As the case unfolds, the two are forced to confront their own personal demons.

Sisters Dahlia, Iris, Violet, and Rose - all with grown children of their own - have a complicated relationship, so when their grandmother's will requires them to spend the whole summer - without friends or family - "camping in" at her run-down lodge on re mote Lake Clare in order to inherit the valuable land, old rivalries and new understanding emerge, with plenty of laughs along the way.

Travel writer Julia Sullivan lives life in fast-forward. She jet sets to Europe and the Caribbean with barely a moment to blink or sleep. But too many mishaps and missed deadlines have Julia on the verge of being fired. She's offered one last chance to rescue her career. Julia embarks on an unlikely journey to the "Heart of Dixie" - Eufaula, Alabama - home to magnificent mansions, sweet tea, and the annual Pilgrimage. Julia arrives and is soon charmed by the lovely city and her handsome host, but her stay is marred by a shocking discovery.