Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!

August 28, 2006
Partonville, the beloved "circle-the-square town in the northern part of southern Illinois," is back in book five of Baumbich's enjoyable series. As Christmas approaches, Katie Durbin's plans to create a minimall in the town square are threatened by some mutinous citizens, and 88-year-old Dorothy Jean Wetstra will need all of her shrewd diplomacy and powerful prayers to "The Big Guy" to win them all over. Meanwhile, the town is in a dither because of the untimely accidental death of one of its leading residents. This installment features a sweet 60-something romance, a promising subplot about Dorothy's attorney son Jacob,and the usual dose of good humor and funny happenings. Despite some recurring technical problems with abrupt shifts in point of view, Baumbich's writing shows that she knows—and still loves—smalltown people.

October 15, 2006
Baumbich's fifth entry in the gentle-read Welcome to Partonville series (after Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?) finds the residents of the fictional small Illinois town getting ready for Dearest Dorothy's annual Christmas party. The death of the town's sole attorney has folks shook up, but Dorothy's prayers and spunky attitude rally the town back into the holiday spirit. For collections where previous series titles are popular.

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