cover image Going Up South

Going Up South

Janet W. Ferguson. Southern Sun, $13.99 (266p) ISBN 978-0-9974822-6-3

Ferguson’s (Leaving Oxford) second installment of the Southern Hearts series continues in Oxford, Miss., where Cassie Brooks hasn’t practiced law since her messy divorce. But when her close friend, Jill, needs help with a custody battle involving a hotshot Hollywood actor, Cassie offers to mediate to keep the story out of the tabloids. Dylan Conner never quite gave up his crush on Sarah Beth, the heroine of the series opener, with whom he had a fling when they both lived in L.A., and so he’s pleasantly surprised when he sees her and her friends in L.A. But upon reconnection her friend Jill tells Dylan he is the father of her cute three-month-old son Michael. Dylan decides to travel to Oxford, Miss., to negotiate custody of his son, and it seems as if the whole town is against him. He finds an unlikely ally in Cassie and her son Benjamin. As they start to spend more and more time together, the custody mediation isn’t the only thing on their minds. And when Dylan joins a group from Cassie’s church that goes to Honduras to help those suffering from a dengue fever outbreak, the past bubbles up in unexpected ways. Ferguson makes up for some awkward dialogue and the overly complicated romantic situation with the captivating unfolding of Dylan and Cassie’s relationship, as well as Dylan’s father-figure role in Cassie’s son’s life. (BookLife)