Description

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The new edition of a modern classic by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Mary Monroe!

Everyone from Louisiana to Florida knows Mama Ruby—a small-town girl who became one of the South’s most notorious and volatile women. In this beautiful reissue, New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe reveals how the indomitable heroine of her acclaimed classic The Upper Room continues to vex the family she’s left behind.

Mama Ruby has died and Maureen Montgomery is finally taking charge of her own life. With her beautiful teenage daughter, Loretta, by her side, she returns to Florida and settles into a routine any other woman would consider bland. But for Maureen and her brother, Virgil, after Mama Ruby’s hair-trigger temper and murderous ways, bland is good. Yet Loretta has other ideas . . . 

Set on becoming rich and famous, Loretta convinces Maureen to let her start a modeling career with the help of a Miami photographer. But even as they move in promising new directions, they can’t escape Mama Ruby—including Virgil, who’s concealed one of her most shocking acts for most of his life. To make a future that’s truly hers, Maureen will have to take on a bit of Mama Ruby’s strength, forge new bonds—and face down the past.

About the Author

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Mary Monroe is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of over 20 novels, with over one million books in print. She is a three-time AALBC bestseller and winner of the AAMBC Maya Angelou Lifetime Achievement Award, the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and the J. California Cooper Memorial Award. The daughter of Alabama sharecroppers, she taught herself how to write before going on to become the first and only member of her family to finish high school. She lives in Oakland, California and can be found online at MaryMonroe.org.

Praise For…

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Praise for Mary Monroe’s Mama Ruby Trilogy:
 
“Magnificent, coarse, funny and terrifying.”—The San Francisco Chronicle on The Upper Room
 
“Engaging …the dialogue and setting are reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston, but the story has a bizarre, violent edge … la Stephen King. Fantastic and exaggerated, the novel may seem dated in its descriptions of race and sex, but it is a candid portrayal of the cold-blooded yet fascinating Mama Ruby.” —Publishers Weekly on The Upper Room
 
“Monroe keeps the suspense high, and readers will draw a bated breath with the turn of each page.” —Booklist on Mama Ruby
 
“A spicy mixture of family scandal, mother-daughter betrayal, and good-for-nothing men.” —Publishers Weekly on Lost Daughters
 
“Monroe is a masterful storyteller.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“Mary Monroe's prequel to The Upper Room reintroduces readers to Mama Ruby, a fierce and indomitable woman… Though readers new to the series will have to accept the dialect, ever-present threat of violence, and explicit sex scenes, they'll appreciate the compelling period and the unapologetic characters. Familiarity with The Upper Room smooths the way.” —Publishers Weekly on Mama Ruby