Customer Reviews

The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club (Debutante Dropout Mysteries, No. 3)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A big cheer for Susan McBride and The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club! The third installment in the Debutante Dropout books is a great addition to this series. I love the author's witty writing style and her true to life, yet, quirky characters she has created. The great dialog between Andy and Cissy, and humorous observations, provide plenty of laughs as they go through a slight role reversal of mother and daughter in this book.

Cissy has a much larger role in this book than the previous two, which I was delighted to see with this character. Cissy is convinced her dearest friends were murdered because of the evidence she discovered, a nightgown and smudged lipstick. Andy, however, is not convinced of anything, except that her mother may have just flipped out under the stress of finding her friends dead. Andy does her best to humor her mother until the tests prove her friends deaths were from natural causes, while Cissy pushes forward to investigate with help from a reluctant Andy. When things aren't adding up like they should, Andy begins to realize Cissy might be closer to a truth no one wanted to believe, which could place Cissy right in the cross hairs of the killer.

Susan McBride takes us on a great ride into her world, giving fans and new readers of the Deb Dropout Series a fun, often hysterical, and exciting journey for us to enjoy.

Only for her mother will debutante dropout turned web designer Andy Kendricks attend the funeral of Cissy Kendrick's close friend Bebe Kent. After the funeral, they go to the memorial service held at the dead woman's residence in the exclusive assisted care facility Belle Mede. When Cissy learns that Bebe died in her pajamas she thinks that death listed as natural causes was really a homicide because the victim always slept in the nude.

The facility is run by Annabelle who knew Andy when they went to an upscale camp for blue blooded rich kids. Annabelle and Cissy's daughter were close friends, two misfits who clung together for security. Cissy maneuvers Annabelle into letting her and Andy investigate Bebe's's death by posing as the new resident and her niece but on their first day in Bebe's home, another woman close to Cissy is found dead. Cissy believes that Sarah Lee Seville was also a homicide victim because her make up was smudged, something that she would fix immediately in case someone saw her. At first thinking her mother's grief is making her crazy, Andy finally comes around to her view point because there are too many links between the two dead women. Nobody, least of all Andy, thought that Cissy would be in danger from the killer.

Susan McBride infuses her exciting amateur sleuth mystery with a gallows's humor that is both appropriate and funny in a macabre sort of way. Although Andy thinks her mother is wrong in her description that murder took the lives of her two friends, the love she feels for Cissy compels her to find out if there is any evidence to support her theory . This down home Texas mystery is enjoyable, entertaining and riddled with red herrings and unexpected plot twists.

Harriet Klausner

Andrea Kendricks was looking forward to a nice relaxing Saturday alone. However, one of her mother's best friends, Bebe Kent, has died, and "Andy" gets talked into attending the memorial service to be Cissy's moral support. After the service, Andy learns that Cissy thinks her friend was murdered. Clearly, Cissy's grief is affecting her mental health.

Bebe had recently moved into the Belle Meade, a plush retirement community for the extremely rich. When another resident is found dead, Cissy again finds the normal looking circumstances suspicious. Could she be right?

Having read the previous two books in the series, I expected the plot of the book to be a little slow right out of the gate. However, I wasn't prepared for this. The plot moved forward with glacial speed, with too much of it being revealed on the back of the book. Frankly, the back of the book may be my complaint more then anything else. I love Andy and Cissy, so I was highly disappointed by the lack of development. One of Andy's childhood friends makes an appearance, and I loved learning more about Andy from their interactions.

Die hard fans of the series will still enjoy reading the book. But don't bother reading if you don't love the characters.

I really enjoyed this installment of the series.

While Cissy can be overbearing and get on your nerves, her character, as well as Andy's, are very well-developed and realistic. While this story was fairly predictable and easy to figure out, it was still enjoyable.

Things have gotten antsy for Andrea Kendricks (the debutante dropout) once again. Her mother, Cissy, is upset when her best friend dies. But Cissy does not believe that her friend, Bebe, died in her sleep as everyone says she did. Why? Because Bebe had on a nightgown. Then another friend, Sarah Lee, dies. Cissy is positive it is foul play because of Sarah Lee's lipstick.

Andrea is beginning to believe her mother has flipped her lid. Andrea is certain of it when she discovers that her mother has disguised herself to look older and has become a new resident in the posh retirement community of her deceased friends.

**** Author Susan McBride has written another great mystery that will have her readers scratching their heads as they try to figure out what is going on. From previous books, I knew that Andrea had an odd way of life and of viewing it all, but this story shows that the apple did not fall far from the family tree. The mother and daughter characters are very well developed. Had the situation been real, instead of fictional, I've no doubt the reactions would be exactly as McBride spells them out. The author's sense of humor is utterly delightful and gives everything a little twist with the witty banter. Terrific book that I recommend to all mystery fans! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Cissy Andrea's mom has went through the deaths of two of her closest socialite friends, she's grieving badly. Her Daughter Andrea and loyal housekeeper knows Cissy is still her witty proper self, Cissy moves into Belle Meade a Luxurious Club Med resort for those over 60 and wealthy with Andrea as a companion to discover her friends really did pass on well before their time, someone at Belle Meade is getting away with murder. Can Andrea and Cissy find the killer, before they become victims?

Andrea Kendricks doesn't want to be at Bebe Kent's memorial service, but her mother talked her into going to be her moral support. Bebe was one of her dear friends. After the service, Andrea's mother, Cissy, announces she believes Bebe was murdered. Andrea's afraid the grief is too much for Cissy.

Bebe had recently moved into Belle Meade, a swanky retirement community. When Cissy takes her there, she runs into an old friend she hasn't seen for years.

Then another resident is found dead. Another friend of Cissy's. Now Cissy is insistent that they were both murdered, even though there is no evidence to support her claims.

Andrea agrees to help her mother prove it was murder to humor her. But as Cissy begins digging, Andrea realizes something is going on and joins in the investigation. Can they get to the truth without finding themselves pushing up daisies?

I love this series. Andrea is such a fun character. I'm actually warming to her mother with each book. I'm not into the society scene. That's probably why I like Andrea so much. I thought this book was the best glimpse into the real Cissy and now I like her better.

I really enjoyed the mystery in this book and the retirement community was a great backdrop. I highly recommend this book and the complete series.

In the 3rd Debutante Dropout Mystery, Andrea Kendricks Blevins (aka Andy) feels even more pressure than usual from her wealthy Texas mother, Cissy Blevins. Normally, the pressure facing Andy has to do with the fact that she shuns high society, and lives without her trust fund. Always trying to marry her off to a rich suitor, Cissy spends a lot of time worrying about her independent daughter. But when one of Cissy's friends is found dead, Cissy enlists the help of her daughter to prove that the death was not from natural causes as the retirement community claims. Adding insult to injury, Andy soon learns that an old camp buddy, Annabelle, is the proud owner of the swanky community. Annabelle begs Andy to get Cissy off the case, and puts Andy is a difficult situation. And when Cissy goes deep undercover, will a killer be unmasked or will Cissy find herself as the latest victim?

I really enjoy this fun series! It is nice to see the relationship between Andy and Cissy grow with each new installment, and I have enjoyed watching Andy become more understanding of her mother's point of view. Some of the mystery itself was a bit unbelievable, but it did not take away from the story itself. For example, I found it a bit implausible that a retirement community could have a doctor on staff that could rule a death "natural causes" or not, especially with more than one death so close together. It seemed to me that Annabelle would have been more than willing to have an autopsy done just to prove no foul play was involved, which added to the mystery. I was kept guessing almost to the end, and still have some questions that I believe could be answered in future books. There is also a hint of a romance for Cissy, which could be a welcome addition to the series.

The first book in the series is called "Blue Blood". Enjoy!

Her newest series ( this would be 3 in the series)is just great fun to read. The characters are so easy to like, the writing flows. Such pleasant reading here, I look forward to more!

If this had been the first Debutante Dropout book I read, I wouldn't bother with the others. I was really disgusted with Andi. She has some really big issues, although she doesn't seem to know it. She's so proud of her lifestyle and her utter rejection of her mother's way of life that you wonder just why she's so vehement about it. A little compromise would make the way smoother for both of them. She's proud her clothes have no designer labels. I wouldn't eat the way she does. In book 1 she's in The Palm and orders a plain hamburger, hoping the waiter won't bring the filet mignon her mother surreptitiously ordered for her. She's also insistent that she won't be walking down the aisle any day soon. Although her relationship with Brian is young, her clock is ticking.

Cissy, on the other hand, is everything a girl's mother should be. I just love her and wish I could be more like her. And she's sharp as a tack. Shame on Andi for thinking she's crazy. I can't believe that Andi would react the way she did. Cissy owed her a great big "I told you so" at the end of the book. And I can just imagine her in the tacky clothes and tawdry wig. You go, girl!!! (Yes, I mean Cissy, not Andi!)

Annabelle is as dumb as paint in spite of running a thriving business. Or maybe she's deliberately blind. People just don't die the way the first woman did--laid out on the bed in her best nightgown. And a healthy woman in her sixties or seventies usually doesn't just drop dead.

I guess the main lesson in this is that sometimes Mother does know best!
And Andi--lighten up.