Southern Books

Great book!!! The recipes are simple, easy to follow and delicious. No hard to find ingredients. It includes recipes from different Int'l cuisines. The prelude to the recipes, history, anecdotes, etc...was interesting to read as well. Highly recommended.

How many cookbooks do you buy, look at them once or twice and then forget about them? This cookbook is packed with genuine Florida Keys recipes including my favorite, "Chardonnay Shrimp." Since most of the recipes come from Keys restaurants, the book also acts as a restaurant guide. Interspersed with old photos and the history of the area, the book gives new meaning to "flavor of the area." A must have for those who love food and the Florida Keys.

Tasty recipes are interspersed with tidbits about the ingredients (pineapple, crab, papaya seeds, etc.). Vintage photos of Key West and interesting bits of history round out the book. The Chef's Note at the end of each recipe offers substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients. Key West is a melting pot of Cuban, French, Spaniards, Bahamians, and many other cultures, so the cuisine in this book reflects that diversity.

Here's the Table of Contents:
Food Customs, Cultures, and Traditions of the Florida Keys
Cocktails, Coolers, and Finger Food
Soups, Bisques, and Chowders
Salads and Vegetables
Rice, Beans, Tubers, and Pasta
Fish and Seafood
Meat and Poultry
Grand Finales
Bread and Breakfast
Stocking the Tropical Pantry

The Florida Keys Cookbook is one of the five best Florida/Gulf Coast cookbooks out there. Well, that's my opinion. I've been updating my Amazon "So You'd Like to Guides" and I have one on Key Lime Pie. Take a look at it if you want. Anyway, I've included fifty cookbooks (the maximum Amazon will allow) in all my guides, so I've had a chance to go through my collection. And quite a collection it is, I've got hundreds of cookbooks and I go through them all the time. That's my problem, how to organize them. While going through what I wanted to include in my guides, I started separating them into piles, the ones I couldn't live without and the ones, if I absolutely had to, I could give away as gifts, you know, like if we moved into a very small place.

The Florida Keys Cookbook is one I could never part with. I love the food and the atmosphere of Florida and the Gulf Coast, have spent a lot of time there, as I'm a sailing lady. I'm also somewhat of a gourmet chef. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or galley, depending if I'm at home in the States or on our boat in the Caribbean. The recipes here will make your family, or even just yourself, if you live alone, drool. They are mouthwatering good and that's the truth.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (7/06)

Victoria Shearer is a travel and food journalist. In "the Florida Keys Cookbook" she combines history, culture and recipes. This book is as versatile as the variety of ethnic influences of the Keys. Mix "Afro-Caribbean and Cuban to Spanish, Asian, British, German, and Italian-and the result is a diverse and vibrant culinary scene."

Ms. Shearer walks us through history beginning with the ice age and advancing to the 21st century. The residents in the 1800's had to be a tough lot. "They endured hurricanes, mosquitoes, sand fleas, extreme heat, isolation, no fresh water, no refrigeration, no electricity, no modern plumbing and no medical aide." They battled "large roaches, and ants." They did have "clean air, warm sunshine, and the riches of the sea."

I found of particular interest the discussion of water. Water was a precious commodity. Cisterns were built and houses equipped with a method of collecting rainwater.

The Keys' becoming a popular vacation spot in the 1980's, was instrumental in a change in cuisine. Floribbean, was "colorful, ethnic, and bursting with new flavors, it swept the nation." The new cuisine has unofficially been dubbed "Conchfusion", "takes advantage of the increased availability of unusual ingredients from around the globe, fusing them with the bounty of the sea and the tropical jewels of the dooryard garden."

The recipe for "Pulled Pork Barbecue" intrigued me. I could hardly wait to give it a try. It was worth the wait. The recipe reminds me of southern barbecue. The taste is tangy and rich, well worth the effort. Of course no Florida Keys Cookbook would be complete without recipes containing key limes. "Key Lime Cheese Cake" is delicious. I plan to hang on to this one and use it for special occasions. "Key Lime Cake" is a winner with my family.

Anyone that has dreamed of a warm tropical nights with a gourmet meal, a fruit drink and palm trees swaying in the breeze will want a copy of this book.

If you want to do more than just read about the Cherokee indians, this is the book to get! The first part of the book is a historical and cultural overview of the Cherokee indians. The second part of the book gives directions to historical sites and goes into some detail about the history behind the site. It also tells you what there is to see now. I am not aware of another book like this. Keep it in your car when you travel. I really enjoyed this book.

A photographer having a special interest in Cherokee history, Vicki Rozema's "Footsteps Of The Cherokees: A Guide To The Eastern Homelands Of The Cherokee Nation" is a seminal contribution to the growing body of Native American history in general, and the Cherokee Nation in particular. Traveling more than 4,000 miles and investing about 2500 hours visiting, researching, and photographing the sites associated with Cherokee history throughout southeastern United States, "Footsteps Of The Cherokees" covers Cherokee farmlands, homes, and sacred sides in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and the infamous trek to Oklahoma in 1838 called 'The Trail of Tears', when thousands of Cherokees were forced by the federal government to leave their lands and live on a desolate reservation in an inhospitable western frontier. Some 190 sites are listed and provided with historical perspectives. Enhanced with black-and-white photographs, detailed directions to the sites, their hours of operation, along with entrance fee information, as well as relevant phone numbers, "Footsteps Of The Cherokees" is the perfect travel planner and companion. An impressive and original body of work, "Footsteps Of The Cherokees" is a welcome and very highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Native American Studies reference collections.

This book is excellent. It won an Award of Merit from The Tennessee Historical Commission. It is different from other books on the Cherokees because it gives detailed directions to over 190 different sites associated with the Cherokees. Well-organized as well as informative.

We used this book for two years to take prayer walkers to the actual sites of the Cherokee people for prayer and reconciliation in Jesus name. See [URL]. This book was invaluable. We found a lot more sites than she lists, but her book has great directions, history, etc. We met the author for lunch in Knoxville two years ago. She is shy, unassuming, and modest about the great gift she has given to the Cherokee and those who live on their lands today.

A very well written book and very easy to read. Divided into
two parts, the book gives the reader a goodly amount of historical as well as cultural information on the Cherokee Tribe in their Eastern homelands. The second part of the book is a listing of various places in this area that are of historical interest. Not only does Vicki Rozema tell the reader where these places are, but some of the background surrounding them and when available she also includes a picture to help in identifying these sites. As an added feature, the information on business hours and cost to get in is also included.

Vicki Rozema has a good talent for holding the reader's attention, which to me is important. The only thing wrong with this book is that it has now added all these different places I never realized existed before to my itinerary and I don't know if I will be able to get to see them all, but will surely try. The book will definitely go with me when I travel.

Easily one of the most impressive books I have read. Frontiers is a book that covers broad sweeps of history and culture in a balanced and informative way. Although it is lengthy (over 1,200 pages), it captures one's interest to such a degree that one is actually left with wanting more!

A noticeable theme for me was the role and importance of individuals in shaping history. For example, Harry Smith, Governor of the Cape Colony, who had a profoundly negative influence on the Xhosa people, yet was admirable in other ways (having served in the American Colonies, Europe, and India-- perhaps one of the first sons of globalization). Similarly, the powerful influence of the London Missionary Society, and by extension, religion in general in setting the course of human events.

A must read for students of African history!

Noel Mostert's 'Frontiers' explains the face of the new South Africa.

Having spent some time in the East Cape I came away with a keen sense of the history of the frontier wars so well described by the book.

Noel Mostert is the best voice of this exciting history.

This is a riveting, tautly written, "page-turner". And thank heavens, because it clocks in at a whopping 1300 pages. But do NOT let that deter you. If Africa is of interest to you then you NEED to, you MUST, read this book. The period under study dates from the earliest explorations of South Africa (late 1400s) to the late 1800s.

Mostert's approach is sensitive and balanced - as the subtitle conveys "The Epic of South Africa's Creation and the Tragedy of the Xhosa People". It is narrative in format and the experience (and indeed the pleasure) of reading this book is not dissimilar from that of reading Shelby Foote's monumental three volume "The Civil War: A Narrative". The flyleaf describes "Frontiers" as having a "Gibbonesque sweep" and this is extremely apt.

There are good maps, though too few of them. The style is fluid and compelling. The descriptions of the landscape are wonderfully evocative. This book provides everything that one needs to understand that tragedy that unfolded in modern day South Africa. One is left yearning for the paradise that was so clearly lost.

One of the best ways for me to recommend this book to you is by excerpting a passage:

"It was a battle that fell into complete obscurity.... It was, so to speak, an event without a name, a four-hour long retreat along a wagon road, an agonizing struggle, yard by yard, mile by mile. It was a severe humiliation....which may have helped dim its historic judgement. Yet not again until Rorke's Drift some eighteen years on would the British army again fight and die in such a brave, cruel and intimate scuffle on the African veld. There were to be no medals or recognition for the infantryman of the 91st on the road between Forts Hare and Cox on 29 December 1850. But as Robert Godlonton said, there had never been anything like it in frontier war. Maqoma paid the infantrymen high tribute. Describing the battle he was to say of the 91st that `they died fighting and cursing to the last.'

The fighting was hand to hand, a brutal melee marked by the sort of acts of prompt individual heroism, and of miraculous survival that such ferocious close combat inevitably produced, a situation where every man was immediately for himself, with no certain idea of what was happening except directly in front of him, and yet with the fate of a companion often suddenly intrusive upon his own struggles."

This conveys the immediacy and the force with which Mostert writes. If you loved Pakenham's "Scramble for Africa", or Alan Moorehead's books on the Nile, you will not be disappointed.

This one might take you a while to get through but it's well worth it. Not normally a history afficionado, I still found the 1000 or so pages easy to get through.

Provides a fascinating insight into the background for modern day South Africa, concentrating not on the Zulu but on the lesser known and more peaceful Xhosa. Interesting perspective on the Boers who don't come off near as badly as the good old Poms in this seemingly none-too-biased book.

Most books on S. Africa focus on three things: Aparthied, The Boer War or the Zulu, with Mandela being a close fourth. This book focuses on the real south Africa, the Xhosa people and the tragedy that befell them as Zulu, Boer and British invasions destroyed their way of life. An excellent study of a people and a nation and a study that shows that African tribal wars were just as destructive as the europeans.

A must read for anyone interested in Africans, Africa or colonialism and the survival of native cultures.

Seth J. Frantzman

Enjoyable walk through the long run of Galatoire's. Recommended for anyone who has eaten there as I have a number of times. You don't need to be a regular to savor the stories. Here's hoping Galatoire's returns even better after Katrina. Steve

Burton and Holditch lovingly recount the 120-year history of this famous eatery, synonymous for many with New Orleans itself. Along the way we are regaled with anecdotes about the Galatoire family owners (now in the fourth generation), dedicated staff, and loyal customers. From Tennessee Williams to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, an impressive parade of celebrities, socialites and royalty have dined at this New Orleans landmark. The authors also include some traditional recipes. I recommend this book to anyone who likes good food, good times, and the Big Easy.

One-hundred-year-old Galatoire's restaurant, the greatest dining institution in New Orleans, where great restaurants are numerous, has at last found its chroniclers. Kenneth Holditch and Marda Burton, authors and long-time devotees of the place, have published Galatoire's: Biography of a Bistro, a charming, gossipy, witty account of the history and character of this famed eatery.

Galatoires, as Burton and Holditch portray it, is a microcosm of New Orleans traditions reflected in the history of the Galatoire family, the loyal generations of staff, food tastes as they have evolved, and the eccentric, and sometimes famous, patrons throughout the years who have made the restaurant so successful. The layout with photographs and numerous anecdotes convey the vitality of this venerable institution. We even tried some of the recipes and created a little bit of Galatoire heaven in our own kitchen. The many facets of this book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. Whoever thought anyone could portray the life of a restaurant so vividly on the printed page!

Anyone who has an abiding affection for New Orleans and its layers of tradition should read this book. I loved it. Authors Burton and Holditch observe and participate. In so doing they seem to say to you.....here have a seat. come. dine with us.

Of course there is the history of this great restaurant which fascinted me. But beyond that, I felt as if I have been there: in the kitchen, offices, even the outside alleyways with the smell of oysters wafting through the soft Louisanna air. And beyond that still are the sometimes eccentric and quirky characters that populate the community, the kitchen, and the offices. Its a splendid cook's tour done with integrity and savoir faire.

As owners of Collina Plantation bed and breakfast in Mississippi built in 1835, we have hired a landscape architect to restore the grounds back to what they would have looked like during the 1840's to 50's. He says this is the most comprehensive book of its kind he has ever seen. Very in-depth for the serious restoration gardener.

This is hands down my favorite gardening book ever. It is a fascinating historical document and a wonderful botanical reference. The numerous illustrations are beautiful and interesting. For the gardener it is an incredible read. For the gardener who is a history buff, like me, it is absolutely indispensable. It's rare to find a subject so beautifully and thoroughly discussed. Buy this book!!

A lush book for daydreaming, even if you have a northern garden. This volume is part gardening reference, part historical narrative, part coffee table viewing, and a great read.

A beautifully illustrated seminal book on the antebellum gardens of the South. This book will challenge readers and scholars alike to explore further. It is an excellent beginning.

This book received an Award of Honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects Professional Awards program in 2004--one of only two books so recognized that year.

As a young boy, I spent my summers on Boca Grande Island. My Grandmother often used this book. There are recipes from great Tampa cooks and from local restaurants - the most notable being the Columbia in Ybor City.
The introductions to the chapters bring back Florida as it was before air conditioning and the influx of northerners, "When we were children, the Gulf beaches were a lonely outpost where the white shell roads were rippled like washboards, and one drove to neighboring towns for groceries, ice, and drinking water". A great book.

Great "real" recipes. The book has been around for a couple of generations with tried and true recipes! It's loaded with yummy tastes of Tampa and its spanish heritage and many other recipes - 712 in all! Recipes are simple and ingredients easy to locate at the local grocery store. A great product from our local Junior League of Tampa that helps fund their community projects.

This cookbook is a must have if you're a Florida resident! Everytime I look through it I have so much. It is big enough to allow you to surprise guests many times over. It is a fantastic place to turn for Cuban classics & Florida seafood recipes.

THIS BOOK HAS ALL THE RECIPES YOU WOULD WANT FROM FLORIDA CUSINE.THERE ARE OVER 700 MOUTH WATERING RECIPES. IT IS GREAT!

This is the book for anyone who is interested in the variety of recipes representing so many different cultural backgrounds. It centers in on the recipes of Florida's West Coast and gives you so much historical information besides wonderful recipes. The West Coast of Florida is rich in recipes , Spanish, Greek, Italian, Southern, Yankee, and the greatest Seafood recipes on Earth. This book is a must if you love simple great food!

This is an incredible story of a deaf man who was found wandering the streets of Jacksonville, IL and subsequently institutionalized at Lincoln State School and Colony. It is an easy-to-read account that tells about all of the horrors and abuses that John Doe No. 24 endured and the way he survived it all. When he also went blind, he was almost totally disconnected from he world. Yet, somehow, he maintained a sense of humor and enjoyed the simple things of life.

Anyone interested in the beginning of what is now called "Special Education" should read this book. Highly recommended.

A very interesting story and topic best summed up by Mary Chapin Carpenter herself when she penned the words in her song that she included on John Doe 24's tombstone, "Well there's no doubt that life's a mystery, but so too is the human heart." I would suggest that many readers are drawn to this book through Mary Chapin Carpenter. For those that are, you are apt to find a 'Lewis' that is different than the one you may have envisioned since you first heard Ms. Carpenter's haunting melody. In many ways it is hard to distinguish the human being that lives inside this deaf and mute body. It is difficult to read because it tears us from the comfort of our own 'perfect' lives.

The song apart, I learned a great deal about the history of institutional care through the journey that Lewis stumbles into in 1945. The picture is not pretty. Still, it is important to understand that institutional culture does exist in America. Having read this book, I am now compelled to learn where it is today with the hope that it has improved dramatically since the events I read in Mr. Bakke's book.

Not a particularly 'fun' book to read, but one that should be on your list.

Mr. Bakke has written a riveting book about a nearly unbelievable life. The reader is rapt by the circumstances 'Mr. Doe' meets at every turn, and Mr. Bakke has penned his words in a way that allows the reader to feel something of the feelings Mr. Doe must have experienced. The story told by the book is at once heartrending and hopeful; Mr. Doe is 'trapped' in 'the system,' but he is often shown mercy by compassionate people who even now deserve to be honored for their efforts.

One question remained when I had finished the book: Why did no one---the police, a social worker, ANYBODY---allow Mr. Doe to take them back down the trail he had traveled? Let him be a passenger in a car, pointing his way back to his place of origin?

Great book, though. I'd recommend it for almost anyone of any age. THANK YOU, MR. BAKKE, for showing us the twists and turns of this lost human riddle.

that not that long ago in this country someone was found wandering the streets and there were no means to identify him. How sad that someone had raised him for 16 years and then "lost" him. This is a story about one man's dignity. Unlike a lot of stories involving institutions, it seems as though John encountered an awful lot of caring people employed at these places. I find it interesting that although he learned to communicate with others, he never discussed his past or gave any real clues as to his beginnings.

It's a well written book about a sad subject. I recommend it.

On October 11, 1946, a black boy of indeterminate age was found wandering the streets of Jacksonville, Illinois. When police discovered he was deaf, mute, and suspected to be retarded, he was sent to the Lincoln State School and Colony, a state facility that bore little resemblance to its name. Had he been permitted to stay at the School for the Deaf, his life would have been completely different, but that school was not permitted to take retarded people.
The Lincoln School was a self-contained city having a farm with price-winning cattle and a dairy processing plant. It generated its own power and returned thousands of dollars to the state treasury, thanks to the free labor provided by the residents (really inmates). These people varied from the very severely retarded to those of borderline intelligence. The place was vastly overcrowded, and the pecking order among residents was often established violently.
John Doe, as he was called since they were unable to identify him at all, was given an I.Q. test, but much like any test, if you don't understand the value or importance of the test, there will be little incentive to do well, even assuming you can understand what is expected of you. A special test was used that had been designed for the deaf, but the examiner had difficulty conveying the purpose and instructions for the various tests that were disguised as games or puzzles. John's deafness and inexperience were a huge impediment, and, not surprisingly, he scored very low on the test. This result was to haunt him for years to come. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, John gradually adapted to his surroundings. He had no known relatives so there was no one to claim him nor to send him packages or money that might help alleviate his situation.
By the mid-sixties, thanks in part to JFK's commitment to improving conditions and education for the mentally retarded and an Illinois commission, facilities and conditions were improving at the Lincoln School. John Doe had now been there close to two decades. Unfortunately, it was also the time of Chlorpromazine that the psychiatric profession had discovered could turn unruly or violent patients into virtually catatonic, but untroublesome, individuals. It soon became the drug of choice for nearly everyone in an institution. Despite regular doses, John was becoming one of the best students in the ASL class that had been started for the deaf residents. He became a trustee and was placed in charge of several other patients, helping them to dress and to get ready for the day.
By 1973 the side effects of the drugs began to manifest themselves and John was inflicted with diabetes and glaucoma. In 1975, the Lincoln School was converted into a state prison, and John was sent to the Jacksonville Developmental Center. He was now totally blind, but thanks to a few dedicated individuals, his talents were recognized and he was sent to the Helen Keller School. This provided him with the skills he needed to subsequently live in a series of group homes.
He died a few years later, but to this day no one has still been able to track down his identity.

John Yount is a former teacher of mine. Hardcastle is, in my opinion, his best work, a writer working at his peak. The story has an original southern voice, with unique language and not a wasted word. Few contemporary southern novels are written as well. Yount treats the subject matter of Hardcastle, coal miners, with great sensitivity and care; the characters are more real than most books you will ever pick up. Yount's other works include Wolf At The Door, The Trapper's Last Shot, Toots in Solitude, and Thief of Dreams. Read them all, but if you can only read one, purchase Hardcastle.

The setting for Hardcastle is a small mining town during the Depression. Yount brings the characters to life and does an incredible job of developing the life-long friendship between two men. The ending is surprising and emotional. It's on my list of all time favorites.

The book has been compared to The Grapes of Wrath for its portrayal of life during the depression. It should be. Yount is one of the few living American writers who can combine power and grace in his prose, all while weaving a tense, extraordinarily powerful narrative. It's a shame that his other books - The Trapper's Last Shot and Wolf at the Door - aren't in print any longer.

Raymond Carver loved this book, and after you read the first three pages, you will see why. This is a superb novel about the friendship of two men during the Depression. The men work as guards against union organizers at a Kentucky coal mine. Their dilemma is whether to turn away from the abuses of the coal miners or to join their struggle. In swiftly moving chapters that snowball into an unforgettable climax, Yount tells how the men are tested. You will be tested too.

Hardcastle is a book that was meant to be talked about, and if you're in a reading group, it would be an excellent choice. I have not read a more human and moving novel in several years. And not only that: Yount's writing crackles and sings with local color, feel, and humor. A brilliant novel!

I'd never heard of John Yount before I picked up Hardcastle, but from the first page, I knew I could be in the grip of a special writer. Hardcastle is a simple but dramatic story, a sort of morality play, set in an rough Kentucky coal mining town during the Depression. The writing is also simple, but in the best sense, the way that the novels of some of the best American writers, like Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Elmore Leanord, are written simply. Every page rings with honesty and Yount offers some startling insights. The ending is strong and haunting. I was disappointed when it was over.

I enjoyed this book very much. Tarleton's deductive and vainglorious writings are very informative yet do not dwell on American victories but rather American humiliation. I would not recommend it if you are not altogether serious though.

A fascinating book, plainly and well written. It took a moment or so to get used to the vernacular but it's a smooth read. I was particularly interested in Tarleton's say on what happened during the Buford Massacre because he implies (in my opinion) that the slaughter of the American troops was not ordered by him but rather, a circumstance of war and the crazed emotional upheaval that accompanies the heat of battle. The book presents an interesting view of the American War of Independence from the "other side". Well worth it.

After over 113 years of being out of print, Banastre Tarleton once again speaks (at an affordable leavel no less) of his experiences and knowledge of the battles he and his British compatriots went through. Mind you, it is a bit of a dry read as that his legal style of writing shows through the whole thing. If you ever wanted insight as to the British side of the American Revolution,here's your book!

The style of the antique font is most appealing to devotees of British Militaria. It is though one is reading the dispatches from "Bloody Bana" himself. This is the point of view never learned in America. If you enjoyed "The Patriot" you will enjoy this book. Refers in the 1st part to Major Patrick Ferguson, the inventor of the Ferguson Breechloading Flintlock rifle. The descriptions of the terrain and hardships as well as surrender terms and stores captured are thoroughly detailed.

A very detailed history of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. At times a little self serving. It is enjoyable in eighteenth century text. Detailed maps.

Instant classic! Hog Wild is a must read for any mystery novel enthusiast! In addition to being suspenseful and thrilling, the book was funny and delightful. I can't wait to read the next installment as Avery continues her career!

Wow! What a book! Hog Wild was extremely captivating, and kept me guessing right up until the last page. Mrs. Picken's really captures the "flavor" of the south with her superb writing style and dialect. A wonderful read, I would recommend it to anyone!!

After practicing law at Columbia and Charleston, attorney Avery Andrews returns to her small hometown of Dacus where she is about to open up her solo law practice. Even before she officially opens up, Maggy Avinger comes to her for help. It seems her husband, who died form lung cancer, ordered a contentious monument as his gravestone and on it conscribed an epitaph that says she killed him. Maggie doesn't want the monument but Avery is more worried about the accusation.

Later that week she goes to a "plant rescue" on mountain land that Dot Downing sold to land developer Lionel Shoal. When she returns for another rescue, he is digging in the wetlands that he promised to turn into an environment conservation area. Avery wants to see if there is a way she legally cancel Dot's land sale due to Shoal's misuse of the land. A worker finds the body of a man in an abandoned mine shaft, a bullet in his chest. Later on Lionel is found dead in the same manner as Susie Knight. Both were poisoned and before they died they got a warning letter just like the man who was shot on Lionel's property. Creeping Avery out is she gets the same letter as does a friend of hers.

Cathy Pickens has written a charming and delightful southern cozy that gives readers a look at small town living in the heart of South Carolina. The protagonist is a realistic, independent woman who says what is on her mind and tries to do what she thinks is best for her clients even if they have very little money to pay her. Avery is a good role model for youngsters and the audience will definitely admire her attitude.

Harriet Klausner

Cathy Pickens packed her Hog Wild book so full of fun I zipped through it like a wild hog with hounds on its heels. Where else do you find a rottweiller's smallest appendage described as a "tater tot tail" and learn that some woman offered to swap "nookie for nitro"? And I hadn't heard "durn your hide" since my granddaddy died. No rural Southerner could read this one without relating. These characters and their thinking and language might sound far fetched to some, but Miss Cathy got it right. I know these people, right down to the little old lady with the big black rotary-dial telephone.

Hog Wild is the third book in this series by Cathy Pickens, a civil litigator who also teaches law and ethics at the McColl School of Business, Queens University, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Not much is going on in Dacus, South Carolina, so when a pig goes missing, it's big news. Avery Andrews has returned to her hometown to practice law. She's setting up her office and tells Melvin Bertram that she'll keep an eye out for the missing animal. But life gets in the way, as it often does.

Before Avery can open her law office, Maggy Avinger seeks out her help. Maggy's husband, who apparently died from lung cancer, has requested a monument with an epitaph that says Maggy murdered him. Maggy definitely doesn't want either the epitaph or the monument. Avery tells Maggy she'll look into the situation.

Later, Avery attends (at Maggy's invitation) a plant rescue on some land sold to a land developer. Avery is checking to see if the land sale can be cancelled. A body is found in an abandoned mine shaft (death by bullet) and other deaths quickly follow. All the victims received anonymous letters that accuse them of personal shortcomings. Suddenly the small town of Dacus is a hotbed of crime and Avery is on the trail to stop a killer.

I love cozy mysteries and all things Southern. In the North, we call people 'crazy.' In the south they are 'eccentric.' Eccentric people make for better stories. Cathy Pickens' Hog Wild is delightful. It's a fast read filled with quirky characters, a strong independent heroine, and a fun plot.

Armchair Interviews says: Check out the other two novels in this series. If they're as much fun as Hog Wild, you'll be pleasantly surprised.