Blue Christmas [Hardcover]

Mary Kay Andrews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

The popular Mary Kay Andrews delivers a tasty holiday treat as she brings back the winning characters from Savannah Blues and Savannah Breeze for a little Southern cheer.

It's the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to do up her shop for the Savannah historical district window decorating contest––which she intends to win. She throws herself into putting up a Graceland/Blue Christmas motif, with lots of tinsel, an aluminum tree, and all kinds of tacky retro stuff. The project takes up so much time that Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she's done, but the results are stunning. She's sure she's one–upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner. But suddenly, things go missing from Weezie's display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop.

Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday––maybe in the form of an engagement ring from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual.

Throw in Weezie's decidedly odd family, a 1950s Christmas tree pin, and even a little help from the King himself, and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas eve.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Weezie Foley is bent on winning Savannah's downtown window-decorating contest, but as soon as she picks up the hot-glue gun, strange things start happening. Her boyfriend, Daniel, is grumpier than usual; Weezie's dog, Jethro, goes missing and is anonymously returned; a platter of bacon-wrapped shrimp is stolen from Weezie's refrigerator; and a woman is found sleeping in Weezie's shop window. Andrews (Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit) nails idiosyncratic Southern charm and teases out a touching denouement. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

For Weezie Foley, the star of Andrews' earlier novels, Savannah Blues (2002) and Savannah Breeze (2006), Christmas is the best time of year, although this year is turning out to be a challenge. Her store has some stiff new competition, and her boyfriend, Daniel, is blue about the holiday because it calls up bad family memories. Ever optimistic, Weezie is determined to overcome all obstacles and make this a great Christmas with the help of her best friend, BeBe, but strange things keep happening. Andrews gives her readers what they have come to expect from her, along with some new twists in this funny, funky Christmas story: her endearingly quirky southern characters, great descriptions of kitschy objects, a celebration of tradition, and a bit of suspense as Weezie meets her new gay neighbors and tries to figure out who is trying to sabotage her business. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060837349
• ISBN-13: 978-0060837341
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #896,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Kay Andrews is the author of the New York Times bestselling Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas (HarperCollins), as well as Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies and Savannah Blues, all HarperPerennial.

A former reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she wrote ten critically acclaimed mysteries, including the Callahan Garrity mystery series, under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida (and a diplomate of the Maas Bros. Department Store School of Charm), she started her professional journalism career in Savannah, Georgia, where she covered the real-life murder trials which were the basis of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

As a lifelong ""junker"" the author claims to know the location of every promising thrift store, flea market and junkpile in the southeastern United States, plus many parts of Ohio.

She has a B.A. in newspaper journalism from The University of Georgia (go Dawgs!), and is a frequent lecturer and writing teacher at workshops including Emory University, The University of Georgia's Harriet Austin Writer's Workshop, the Tennessee Mountain Writer's Workshop and the Antioch Writer's Workshop. Her mysteries have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity Awards.

Married for more than 31 years to her high school sweetheart, Tom, she is the mother of 24-year-old Katie Abel and 20-year-old Andrew. After a three-year hiatus in Raleigh, NC, she and her husband recently moved back to their old neighborhood in Atlanta, where they live in a restored 1926 Craftsman bungalow.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#27 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#27 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Whimsical! January 1, 2008

By Kaethe L. Parker

Format:Hardcover

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorite authors. I had purchased this book when it was first released last year, but waited to read it over the holidays and am I glad I did!!! I just LOVE her main character Weezie (from Savannah Blues) and am so glad she brought her back in this book. I love antiquing also, so to read about her adventures on her "junking" travels is such fun! An unexpected twist in the book was a pleasant surprise and so well done!!! I can't wait to read Deep Dish - hurry and write another one Mary Kay - your books are fabulous and can't come quick enough.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Blue ribbons, blue spirits and Southern charm!! January 18, 2007

By jeanne-scott

Format:Hardcover

A downtown Savannah contest for best Christmas display pits two design shops against each other. Weezy wants her shop to get the blue ribbon and a decorating disaster inspires her to completely rethink her approach to winning!! Meanwhile her long time boyfriend is distracted and blue over his family and bad memories of past Christmas celebrations. As Weezy tried to set things right, items begin to disappear from her shop and her home in a frighteningly personal way.

Mary Kay Andrews breathes a Southern charm into this romantic Christmas tale.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good work Mary Kay! December 8, 2007

By Bruce A. Templeman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've become a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews work and could hardly wait until Blue Christmas was released. I just loved it and highly recommend it. It's a fun book to read especially during the holidays. I really like her style of writing and have also enjoyed her other books as well. I always look forward to new release. Good work, Mary Kay!

Macon, GA

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars cheerful (except for moody Daniel) Christmas caper November 5, 2006

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

With Christmas just around the corner, antiques dealer Weezie Foley has decorated her store to look like an eighteenth century Yuletide gala in order for her to win the Savannah historical district contest. However, something odd occurs every night as someone seems to sneak into her emporium to steal an item of little value from her decorations. She has no idea who her midnight marauder is or why they purloin one article, but plans to find out whom he or she is.

Meanwhile Weezie also wants to share a joyful holiday with her boyfriend chef Daniel Stipanek, but he seems more a bah humbug than joy to the world type as he rejects her efforts. Weezie turns to her pal BeBe Loudermilk, her dog Jericho, and her certifiable family to help her learn what bugs Daniel about Christmas. Soon her two mysteries intertwine as Weezie needs a miraculous gift from the Magi if she is going to convert her beloved from being a Scrooge clone.

The latest Weezie-BeBe thriller is a blithe holiday romp that will please fans of the two zany women (see SAVANNAH BREEZE and MISSY FIT). The story line is amusing as Weezie recruits her best friend and her family to help her with Daniel. The cast is delightful, but Weezie owns this cheerful (except for moody Daniel) Christmas caper.

Harriet Klausner

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars pure fun and FUNNY! December 2, 2006

By mamareadssomuch

Format:Hardcover

More fictional fun from Mary Kay Andrews awaits you in this seasonal read! It's a short and sweet Christmas novel set in Savannah, SC with Andrews' wacky characters from previous books, Weezie and BeBe.

Weezie is determined to win FIRST PLACE for shop decorating so fancies up her store window in a 'Blue Christmas' theme. Crazy things start to happen and a mysterious woman enters the picture. It's a well-done little novel and VERY funny when Daniel's family (Weezie's boyfriend) comes to holiday meal. Dogs go wild and you can hear the food hit the floor!

If you're a reader who enjoys simple, fun seasonal reads - try this one!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LIGHT, FLUFFY,FEEL GOOD, EASY LISTENING STORY Audio 4cd unadrib December 13, 2008

By Barbara Lane

Format:Hardcover

Antique dealer Weezie Foley is in a wild frenzy to decorate her shop front window with the Christmas Theme hoping to win the Savannah district shop front decorating contest. Weezie has the glue gun out and decorates in a totally different style to all the other entrants. She is determined to beat the trendy shop around the corner who also has gone all out to win. But Weezey finds things start to disappear out of her display.

An old lady was seen alseep in the shop front window in the early hours of the morning by a neighbour. When Weezey is woken up and alerted to the apparent break in she rushes there to catch the intruder.The women is gone. Who is this strange old street lady and how does she get into Weezeys shop without breaking in. Then Weezeys back door of her home during the night is left open, food is missing from her fridge and the dog is let out and vanishes into the night. How does someone get into her house?
Weezey is heartbroken looking for her lost dog and not understanding why strange things are happening.

I have read HISSY FIT and SAVANNH BLUES and they all deserve a 5 star rating, Easy, light, fluffy, feel good stories.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Much Ado about Nothing December 27, 2009

By Catherine J. Foss

Format:Hardcover

During the holidays, I like listening to audiobooks about Christmas so I downloaded Blue Christmas and began listening while cleaning up on December 26. After two hours of listening, I still could not connect with the characters or figure out the plot. It just didn't go anywhere. Stuff is missing from Wezzie's house, but who cares? Daniel, her boyfriend, is grumpy during Christmas, but who cares? The main character Wezzie runs her own antique business, seems successful but worries endlessly about making Daniel unhapppy ("I knew better than to keep him waiting.") There is some weird woman - Apple Annie - that will probably turn out to be Daniel's mother but other than that, there is nothing going on. The main characters banter but it isn't really clever and is sometimes crude ("Screw you Ebeneezer.") Plus, the reader of the book uses annoying voices for men making them sounds slow and cartoonish. Then there are way too many cliche references to gay men - decorators, antique collectors and ex-priests. What is that about?!

I read/listen to many books in this genre - and this is not one that I will even finish. Mary Kay Andrew's Fixer-Upper is a much more entertaining and charming.