Southern Grace Series by Glenda C. Manus

The author of Sweet Tea and Southern Grace, Glenda Manus, delivers another emotionally charged work of fiction. Lighting The Way is the second novel in the Southern Grace Series, and once again focuses on Rev Rock, the Presbyterian minister in the quaint little town of Park Place, South Carolina and his new bride, Liz... moreThe author of Sweet Tea and Southern Grace, Glenda Manus, delivers another emotionally charged work of fiction. Lighting The Way is the second novel in the Southern Grace Series, and once again focuses on Rev Rock, the Presbyterian minister in the quaint little town of Park Place, South Carolina and his new bride, Liz. It’s the Christmas season and storefront displays, twinkling Christmas trees and busy shoppers liven up Main Street as the town prepares for its most exciting season of the year. Christmas parades, candle lit street lamps, and children’s Christmas pageants pump up the holiday spirit, but not everyone in town is celebrating. Maria drifts into Park Place trying to escape an abusive husband. Broken in body and spirit, at first her goal is just to survive and protect the baby she’s carrying, but as she’s slowly introduced to the good people of this small Southern town, she comes to believe that kindness and compassion can lead her out of the darkness of her former life. Just as she seems to overcome the obstacles, she’s once again gripped by fear when she spots her husband’s car in town. How did he find her and what will she have to do to protect herself? Rev Rock and his faithful flock of Presbyterians in the little church with a bell tower help make this a Christmas story Maria will never forget. The other quirky characters that the readers have come to know and love from the first novel find themselves weaving in and out of Lighting the Way. Once again, these people will have you chuckling, and sometimes crying right along beside them as their hearts of gold are openly displayed in this well thought out and charming Southern novel. less

A stranger’s murder in the dark alley behind May’s Flower Shop is causing the residents of Park Place, South Carolina to keep their children inside and their doors locked at night. Banty Hen Antique Shop owners, Sam and Valerie Owens, are caught right smack dab in the middle since they were the last ones to see the victim alive. Valerie’s new venture, the Sweet Tea Quilting Bee is comprised of an eclectic mix of women, calling themselves ‘newbies’ and ‘oldies’ in the art of quilting... moreA stranger’s murder in the dark alley behind May’s Flower Shop is causing the residents of Park Place, South Carolina to keep their children inside and their doors locked at night. Banty Hen Antique Shop owners, Sam and Valerie Owens, are caught right smack dab in the middle since they were the last ones to see the victim alive. Valerie’s new venture, the Sweet Tea Quilting Bee is comprised of an eclectic mix of women, calling themselves ‘newbies’ and ‘oldies’ in the art of quilting. Their weekly meetings help keep Valerie’s mind off the murder, but it’s hard to keep the secret from the ladies that the victim was killed over, of all things, a quilt! The murder suspect has been described as tall and thin, a pitifully vague description, but Police Chief Jess Hamilton and his new detective, a self-described Columbo, are on the case, questioning every tall and thin person in town. Even Sister Margaret, a nun who has just begun her mission at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church, doesn’t go unnoticed. But it’s hard not to notice a nun who dances, and sings along with country music when she thinks no one’s watching. less