Gone South, by Meg Moseley

Tish McComb never planned to leave Michigan and live in Alabama, but somehow life just worked out that way. Her dad’s great-great-grandmother’s Civil War era home was there, it was for sale, she made an offer, and suddenly she was a misplaced Yankee living in Noble, Alabama. Bringing her antique photo of her namesake, she moved in with all her earthly goods.

But when she set out to find a job, open a bank account, and turn herself into a Southerner, she found she had cut off more than she could chew. The bank manager, the people at the garden club, even the managers of the local bar-be-cue restaurant, snubbed her. Everywhere she went, she met people who turned away when they heard her name, which was the same as her great-great-grandmother’s—Letitia McComb.

Another black mark against her, in the town’s estimation, was that she befriended Melanie, a 20-year-old Noble native whose family had turned her out of their home. So these two outcasts set out to make their way in the town, one that does not want to show mercy, love, and forgiveness to a new resident, Tish, or to one that just wants to come back home, Mel.

Tish’s neighbor, George Zorbas, and his uncle, Cal, ran an antique shop near Tish’s new home. They were the only two who would have anything to do with the two women as they cleaned the house and looked for jobs. There are vintage cars and a haughty dog who behaves like a cat, also. Poor George has to take care of the crazy dog because it belonged to his mother, who had passed away.

Author Moseley spends a lot of time developing these characters in their new setting, and she does a good job of making them people the reader wants to know. Tish is willing to give Mel a home and help her overcome the problems that caused her to leave home in the first place, while she keeps on trying to become acquainted with her new neighbors and sort out the treatment she continues to receive. There is a lot of humor in this book, amid the problems that Tish and Mel try to overcome.

I hope you will read Gone South and enjoy the development of the characters and the mystery of the town's reaction as much as I did. Ms. Moseley’s first book, When Sparrows Fall, was just as delightful, but with a totally different premise. This is Meg Moseley’s second novel. Meg Moseley will be interviewed on my blog on September 2. Save the date.

Meg Moseley grew up in California, and now she lives in Atlanta. More about her on the interview.