The fixer upper

Dempsey Jo Killebrew is a young lobbyist at a high-powered Washington public relations firm until her boss is caught in a political scandal. Within days she is nearly broke, out of work and without a place to live.

Her father offers a way out. He has inherited Birdsong, the family's old Victorian mansion in Guthrie, Georgia, and wants it fixed up and sold for a profit. By his account, a little paint and some care will do it. Dempsey reluctantly agrees to go.

The house is nothing like that. It is a moldering, Pepto Bismol pink wreck with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. A fierce old woman, a distant relation of Dempsey's, has claimed squatter's rights and has no plans to leave.

Guthrie adds its own complications. Everyone in town seems to know Dempsey's business, including a smooth-talking real-estate agent and a lawyer who owns the local newspaper. FBI agents also turn up at her door, hoping she will tell them about her former boss.

This is a comic Southern novel with a light tone and a touch of romance. Dempsey takes on the repairs because she has no choice, and the work slowly becomes something she cares about, one that leads her back toward home.