Loved those Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café? Then you'll want to go along for the ride when Bud Threadgoode travels back to Whistle Stop and the homey little café run by his devout mother, Ruth, and her wild-hare sister, Idgie. With the trains no longer running through, the town is mostly boarded up, but Bud makes some new friends and learns more about a host of beloved Whistle Stop characters.

Fried Green Tomatoes author Flagg's latest is a current "check in" and a retrospective look at the beloved little railroad town of Whistle Stop, AL, and its quirky occupants. Down the line of descendants, we follow the life of Bud Threadgoode's daughter Ruthie (named for Bud's mother), up to the present. The story also pops back in time, revisiting some highlights of life back in Whistle Stop and unearthing a few more secrets. Dot Weems, the town's postmistress, keeps readers informed with her annual Christmas card updates. Ruthie, now an adult, settles her dad happily into a retirement home near Atlanta so she can visit often. When Bud escapes and takes a train to visit his beloved Whistle Stop one last time, he is devastated to see it abandoned and unrecognizable. An unexpected turn of events involving Bud losing his prosthetic arm connects Ruthie with an older Evelyn Couch, and the two become friends. When the new pals eventually hatch a plan to use Evelyn's overflowing wealth (thanks to Ninny Threadgoode again!) to restore Whistle Stop, the fun really starts. VERDICT Who can resist a visit to Whistle Stop and all her inhabitants, past and present? No one!—Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Flagg's memorable cast returns to Whistle Stop, Ala., made famous in Fried Green Tomatoes, in this heartfelt saga. As the characters age, they reflect on the 1930s, when the town was a lively, bustling place—but time hasn't been kind to the hamlet, and it has become decrepit. In its heyday, Dot Weems ran the post office and published a town newsletter ("No gossip, just the plain facts, folks!"), and best friends Ruth and Idgie ran the Whistle Stop Cafe. Over time, townspeople scatter yet remain connected by Dot's yearly holiday letters. In 1985, Ruth's granddaughter, Ruthie, gets engaged to Brooks, an Atlanta society man. Shortly after Brooks dies of a heart attack in 2013, their two children leave Atlanta, and Ruthie receives a call from her father Bud's retirement community saying Bud's gone missing. As it happens, Bud is on his way back to Whistle Stop, propelled by memories of the past; meanwhile, his disappearance becomes a major news story, and Evelyn, a wealthy friend of one of Bud's deceased relatives, hears about Bud's disappearance and forms a friendship with Ruthie that changes both of their lives. Flagg's multitude of fans will enjoy reminiscing and learning more secrets from her well-known protagonists. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME. (Oct.)