Miss Julia has her hands full when James, the cook has an accident and family drops in to stay, etc. Of course, Julia has a way of making everything come out OK......She collects recipes to cook and they are shared at the end of each chapter.....along with a bit of humor.....

Miss Julia is at it again. Hazel Marie is busy with the twins, Lloyd is moving from his mom's house to Sam and Miss Julia's, and J.D. is out a lot, working. When James, cook and home help for Hazel Marie and J.D., falls down the stairs the household turns into a madhouse. Hazel Marie has never been much of a cook so Miss Julia decides that she needs lessons and a cookbook. The lessons will come from various ladies and/or their own cooks and Miss Julia will collect their recipes into a cookbook to give to Hazel Marie. The only restriction that Miss Julia puts on the volunteers is that they make the recipes easy so Hazel Marie can do it later on her own. Part of Miss Julia's reasoning is that J.D. might get upset with bad food, crying babies and a wife who is just too busy to take care of herself as well as the children, so she is, in her own way, trying to save a marriage.

No murders in this one, no one dead at all, but the mystery revolves around J.D. so there is plenty to puzzle out in this one. The best part of the book is all the recipes, by my count 48 of them! I'm copying some of them down, I want to try them they sound so good. ( )

With over a dozen books in the series, I am glad I can still enjoy Miss Julia so much. Hazel Marie and her family have moved into Sam's old house, with James there as housekeeper. After he falls down the stairs and breaks his hand, Miss Julia comes up with the idea of having her friends fill a cookbook of easy recipes for Hazel Marie, complete with some cooking lessons. It's a great way to get to see the best (and many) of characters, without having to create long story lines for everyone. Hazel Marie's miscreant uncle is back in town and Mr. Pickens is being as secretive as always, leading Miss Julia to do a little sleuthing on her own time. It's a great visit to Abbotsville and one I am always willing to take. ( )

"That was what I call starting off on the wrong foot - the one he always started with and the one he pretty much stayed on."

Miss Julia, southern lady with a soft spot for a little sleuthing, dashes to help her friend Hazel Marie when the household help sprains his ankle. Hazel Marie's cooking skills being totally non-existent, Miss Julia rings around her friends to compile a simple cookbook, complete with tutorials, for Miss Hazel. But when Mr Pickins' eye seems to be wandering, James is sending cheques to charities of dubious origin and Brother Vern seems intent on living at Hazel Marie's for ever, life gets a bit chaotic!

I have to confess, I found this one confusing.

On the one hand, it was very enjoyable and easy to read - I raced through it in a morning. There's a bit of sleuthing, with a highly amusing ending, and plenty of laughs along the way. Most of the characters are sweet people for whom one really does wish the best and/or funny caricatures - I particularly liked Lloyd and Granny Wiggins.

The book is littered with recipes, many of which look very appetising; all of them look like I would die an early death of heart disease. Surely this cannot be the staple diet of 20 US states?

On the other, do people really still have live-in hired help in the South today? I would have thought the book was set in the 1960s (like The Help) except that they have mobile phones and internet. A bizarre mix of the times - or else not written for anyone outside the South.

This is a very mild, cosy mystery which is really more of a gentle story of malaise and misadventure in the southern States - if only it didn't seem such a caricature. ( )

Hazel Marie really has her hands full when James, her cook/household helper falls down the stairs, breaking his wrist and spraining his ankle. Hazel Marie cannot cook plus she has twin daughters under one-year-old who consume all her time. Miss Julia organizes her friends to contribute recipes to a cookbook while teaching Hazel Marie how to prepare at least one of them. (The recipes are included in the book. They are rather funny because they are your basic small-town American pot-luck recipes.) Mr. Pickens is on a case that consumes all of his time, and then who should arrive but Hazel Marie's Uncle Vernon. While not as side-splitting funny as the previous book, this book is still very humorous. Fans of Miss Julia will not want to miss it, and those new to the series will also enjoy it. Miss Julia upholds her reputation as an American original. ( )