The Book

'A Stranger Comes Home' is the first of the Shirley Foster Southern Shadow Mysteries set in southeastern North Carolina, inspired by memories from the author's childhood of life in a rural area known as Hog Swamp.  The loveably quirky characters, Miss Shirley, Quessie, Eunice, Agnes and Papa Zeke, and many others, will make you smile, maybe laugh, but definitely scratch your head.  You'll recognize their tenacity, their unique hospitality, and the secrets that give each one their own special heartbeat.

 

The Story

Everybody knows that pennies make dollars and minutes make years, but Social Worker Shirley Foster lost track of that latter fact and suddenly faces the harsh realization that her life has slipped away.  The years she thought were ahead waiting to be filled are piled up behind her, and it seems... empty. Having always believed every question has a simple answer, she’s sorely troubled when she can’t put her finger on exactly when, where and why they disappeared.  As she ponders on the puzzling question, another old saying is taking shape in the evening shadows and is just about ready to make itself known.  It’s what the old folks say when people look for something with their noses in the air.  “If it’d been a snake, honey, it would’ve bit you.”

The next day, while tracking a client suspected of welfare fraud, two flat tires strand Miss Shirley on an isolated country road surrounded by deep woods and freshly plowed fields. It appears to be a lost pocket of time where every moment is saved and treasured and every life is packed full of precious memories.  In reality, she's wandered straight to the doorstep of secrets, lies and a body buried out back behind the grape vine. When she reaches out for help in her moment of need, southern hospitality draws her into the lives of three sisters and their Papa and into a home she may not escape.  A few careless words have left this family the victims of heartbreak and separation. Now, kindness is suspect. Love is careful. Remembrance is best not walked on with bare feet. And no one can be trusted.