cover image A Piggly Wiggly Wedding

A Piggly Wiggly Wedding

Robert Dalby, . . Putnam, $24.95 (306pp) ISBN 978-0-399-15557-4

Dalby (Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly ) rolls out his trademark Southern charm in his third foray into the Mississippi Delta town of Second Creek. More than half a century after they first meet and fall in love, Mayor Hale Dunbar Jr. (Mr. Choppy to the townsfolk) and his Chicago fiancée, wealthy widow Gaylie Girl Lyons, are ready to marry. Neither are spring chickens, but that's the least of their problems. The mayor's worried over a possible closing of the catfish processing plant, and Gaylie Girl's grown children are concerned about their inheritance. Their disapproval puts a damper on the couple's joy, but when the skeptical offspring visit Second Creek, Hale and Gaylie Girl's friends, the Nitwitts, plan a visit fit for royalty. Will Hale and the Nitwitts win the kids over? And how will Gaylie Girl, with her mansion in Chicago, feel about living in Hale's cramped bungalow? Naturally, it all works out, as things tend to do in the whimsical little town where everyone is happy—not just ever after—but pretty much 24/7. (Aug.)