In Miss Julia Takes the Wheel by Ann B. Ross, Julia Murdoch is disturbed to learn that her beloved Dr. Hargrove has decided to go to Scandinavia for a medical conference and vacation, leaving his patients under the care of a substitute doctor. However, at the request of Sue Hargrove, Miss Julia invites Dr. and Mrs. Crawford to her house for dinner, where she finds that she likes the doctor but is put off by his drab and timid wife, Lauren. But when her neighbor has a heart attack, Miss Julia is upset to learn that Dr. Crawford never even went to the hospital to offer any care for the man.
In the meantime, Lloyd, now 15 and a high school sophomore, has gotten his learner’s permit and has been given a car by J D Pickens, his step-father who has adopted him. So almost every afternoon Miss Julia has Lloyd drive her and her neighbor Mildred to visit Mildred’s husband, the aforementioned patient in the hospital from a heart attack. As Miss Julia and Lloyd travel about Abbotsville, they find themselves encountering one or the other of the Crawfords, leading to suspicions that something is not fully right with at least one of them.
I have listened to most, though not all, of the Miss Julia books, and while all are a lot of fun, I felt that Miss Julia Takes the Wheel lacked some of the direction of most of the earlier books. In particular, while the books are more fun novels about a small community than true mysteries, this book did not show much of a mystery going on until we see a crime at the end. By then, however, it is obvious who has committed this crime, so there wasn’t really a mystery to the book.
I also missed getting to see some of my old friends, especially Edda Mae and Lillian’s great-granddaughter Leticia, both of whom always steal the show. However, I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with Lloyd and see how he has grown from a scared little boy in the first book to a young man anyone would be proud to be connected with.
I continue to enjoy the performance of Cynthia Darlow in her role as Miss Julia. She uses such creative voices that I really feel I am friends with the characters.
Overall, I enjoyed Miss Julia Takes the Wheel, but not as much as other books in the series. Do I intend to listen to the next book that comes out! You bet! I give this book three stars.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no effect on the content of my review.
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