Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause

Set in 1943, Ballard’s winning second home-front mystery featuring first-grade teacher Miss Dimple Kilpatrick (after 2010’s Miss Dimple Disappears) finds the residents of Elderberry, Ga., excited about a forthcoming war bond rally, which includes a stage production of a “womanless” wedding (all the actors are male). The big event’s chief organizer is Miss Dimple’s friend, librarian Virginia Balliew, who’s assisted by bus driver Buddy Oglesby. The small town’s festive mood turns somber after children playing in a creek during an outing to a local cotton farm discover skeletal remains in the mud. Also distressing is the theft of the more than $2,000 raised in the war bond rally. Could Buddy, who was in charge of the money, be responsible? And who would want to harm mild-mannered Jesse Dean Greeson, shot in the shoulder backstage after the wedding performance? Once again, Miss Dimple turns sleuth in a period cozy full of Southern charm. (Dec.)