Miss Julia Raises the Roof

Madge Taylor and slightly self-righteous pastor Robert Rucker decide Abbotsville, N.C., needs a group home for teenage boys, but Madge’s do-gooder activities soon land her in hot water, in bestseller Ross’s gratifying 19th series mystery (after 2017’s Miss Julia Weathers the Storm). Miss Julia Murdoch hears about it from Hazel Marie, who lives next door to the property in question with her PI husband, J.D. Pickens. Indignant that her pastor is ramming the plan through as though the church supports it, Miss Julia sets out to put a stop to this ill-conceived idea, with all the more urgency when she finds out that even Madge and the pastor have no idea what the developer’s true scheme is. Political corruption, rumors, and generally nefarious goings-on just make Miss Julia and her cohorts more determined than ever to turn a bad notion into one that will protect homes and help the boys. Miss Julia’s usual kindness and sense of what’s right are front and center in an entry sure to please series fans and newcomers with a taste for light detection. Author tour. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. (Apr.)