Because there are no speed limits in life

If there's one thing mystery novelist Maggie Dufrane knows, it's this: Laughter through tears is the Southern way. At least that's what her spitfire mama, aka the Mississippi queen of drama, says. But now the indomitable matriarch is ailing. And reliable Maggie-the-family-chauffeur is moving back in to fix things...again.

Then Maggie's life takes another sharp turn. Her older sister, Jean, drops a shocker, screeching (as always), "What are we going to do?" Jean is terrified. Maggie is exasperated. And Mama's convinced it's the best gossip she's heard all year. But can Maggie tear a page from Mama's book of living large, step back and let her family tackle their own problems for once?

Maybe there's a god of second chances after all.