Customer Reviews

Night of the Living Deb

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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Brian Malone is one of the best young defense attorneys in the city. Brian is at "The Men's Club" (a bordello) treating his soon-to-be-married friend to a final wild night out. Brian hates the place and can hardly wait to leave. His interest perks up, though, when he spies a lady he knows and tries to catch up with her in the back of the club. That is the last anyone knows about Brian's where-abouts.

At the same time, Andrea "Andy" Kendricks is too busy to think about her boyfriend, Brian. Seems Brian's colleague and ex-girlfriend, Allie Price, has dragged Andy to a Chippendales' show. Andy is busy imagining what her mother, Cissy Blevins Kendricks, the Dallas society maven extraordinaire, would think should she find out where her daughter was. Shortly thereafter Andy finds out that Brian is missing. His friend claims that Brian ditched him and ran out of the club with one of the dancers. Allie may believe that, but Andy did not!

Andy must put aside her mean spirited thoughts about Allie and team up with "the Blond Menace" to figure out what is going on.

***** Author Susan McBride has become one of my favorite mystery writers ever! Her characters are always so well developed and totally believable. How could I not adore Andy, the main character? She is perky, sassy, and often hilarious! This mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat AND laughing uproariously. Stellar! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Night of the Living Deb the latest offering from Susan McBride is a book that will have you chuckling from the opening pages. It's partially because there's a little bit of Andrea (Andy) Kendricks in all of us but also because it's an amusing read. From Andy's father's death to her search for her missing boyfriend Brian (who's also being searched for by a former girlfriend and the police), you can't help but be caught up in Andy's experiences. And for this reader, be grateful that they weren't my own experiences.

In this murder mystery, the fourth of a series featuring Andy Kendricks, she's left the debutante world behind, or has tried to, but realizes what a tangled world it is when she's mixed in trying to find her boyfriend Brian while still worrying about Allie, Stephen, Cissy and all of the others who make up part of her world. Brian disappeared after visiting a strip club, and soon becomes the suspect in a stripper's death. Going on clues, including one reference to her mother and cabbage, Andy goes under cover to try and find her boyfriend. The diverse characters allow each to serve as interesting complements to Andy, especially Brian. He's not the kind of boyfriend most readers would have imagined for Andy, yet you can feel her concern when he's missing. She does care about him.

If the book has one fault it's the amount of characters: something common to McBride's works. These characters, by necessity, have to share the time and as a result, it's not possible to learn as much about the characters as the reader might like. I found myself wishing there was more available about the characters and that wasn't always possible. That said, I look forward to reading the others in the debutante series to learn more about Andy and her escapades. This is a quick read and an excellent choice for summer reading.

(Fourth in the Debutante Dropout Mystery series)

Oh no! Andrea "Andy" Kendricks's favorite dude (a.k.a. boyfriend) is missing! Brian Malone was last seen at Dallas' popular strip joint, The Men's Club, trotting behind a hot blonde, supposedly to land a lap dance for his buddy Matty. That's the story anyhow. But truth be known, Andy's beau was seen sneaking out the club's back door with same said blonde, who was only wearing a flimsy, crotch-length robe, and he hasn't been seen or heard from since.

I don't want to give too much away, but Brian better have a good explanation because Andy and her posse (her socialite mother, Cissy; Brian's law colleague and ex-girlfriend, Allie Price; and Cissy's new man-friend, Stephen Howard) are gonna hunt him down like a dog to see what nonsense this straight-laced guy is up to.

Such is the basic plot line from Susan McBride's Night of the Living Deb, the fourth installment in the Debutante Dropout Mystery series. McBride is at her best in this midnight caper that's a cross between the elegance of a Cary Grant movie and silliness of an Abbott and Costello movie.

Andy drops fewer clothing-designer names but hones in on pop culture, which made it easier for the non-fashionista like me to relate to. Also, readers get to know Andy a little better since her passion for painting is revealed. Andy's internal and external voice is flawless, and McBride has sharpened that comedic timing that is so difficult to emulate, especially on paper.

Night of the Living Deb is fun, smart and sassy. It's a great way to break the mid-winter blues or the perfect paperback to pack for that spring vacation.

Armchair Interviews says: This book is a hoot!

I will admit to reading most of this one in the bathtub -- in one session. I was less than a hundred pages away from the end when I finally realized the water had gotten cold. (I finished the book as soon as I got out.)

As far as "mystery" goes, I wouldn't count this as one of the greats, but it's a fun caper story. Andy Kendrick's boyfriend has gone missing, possibly with a stripper -- who turns up dead. Andy wants to find him, either worried or wanting to kill him depending on the moment. Aided by her mother (who wins for the Best Use of Febreeze), her mother's boyfriend who works for the IRS and her boyfriend's co-worker/ex-girlfriend, Andy encounters a range of colorful characters who don't fit in with her Dallas society background.

If you're looking for intricately plotted mystery, this isn't the book for you. If you want a good read that often has you laughing and feeling like it was definitely not time wasted when you're done, I highly recommend it.

In Dallas, defense attorney Brian Malone accompanies his friend Matty Karas, a groom to "The Men's Club" bordello as his engaged buddy wants a lap dance before he says I do. Bored with the "Stepford Strippers", Brian cannot wait to leave so he can sit on the lap of his girlfriend Debutante Dropout Andrea "Andy" Kendricks, Brian is stunned to recognize one of the dancers. He goes over to see her, but suddenly goes down the proverbial "rabbit hole". No one has seen him since.

While Brian vanishes, his former girlfriend and legal partner Allie Price takes a reluctant Andy to see the Chippendales perform. As she watches the hunks show off their wares while performing, Andy pictures her socially correct upper class mother, Cissy having cardiac arrest for her daughter breaking the upper crust rules again by attending this show. Not long afterward Matty tells Andy that Brian dumped him at The Men's Club to leave with one of strippers; Andy knows her Brian too well to believe that though Allie insists otherwise. However, Allie"the Blond Menace" and the Debutant Dropout investigate with both knowing that she will be the one to boast I told you so.

The fourth debutant dropout mystery (see THE LONE STAR LONELY HEARTS CLUB) is a delightful humoresque amateur sleuth tale starring enemy combatants teaming up to learn what happened and why to the missing Brian. Readers will enjoy the Blond Menace's assessment that Brian ran off with a hooker vs. the loyal Andy insisting he must have been abducted. Fans of the series will enjoy this lively entry that starts with the club celebration and never slows down until the end when the heroine kicks herself with her pinching Manolos.

Harriet Klausner

If you lost your boyfriend (you are a woman) when he attended a bachelor party for a friend that was held at a strip joint, how would you feel? That's what happened to rich girl Andy Kendricks when Brian Malone failed to appear after that questionable night. Oh Andy might understand to some degree why he went to such a place but where and why did he disappear without a clue? Brian had been seen running out of the back door of the strip club with one of the strippers and he was immediately suspected to be the culprit in the disappearance. Possibly the worst part is that Andy attended a similar type of place where males were "on display" and had one wrapped around her neck! This the very same night Brian was attending his bachelor party.

The search for Brian involved his ex-wife, Andy's mother and her new boyfriend, and several neighbors that always had to "butt in" when anything appeared not completely normal. When Brian's car was found with the strippers dead body in the trunk, the police came in to play and many became a suspect. The two investigating cops, nick-named Starsky and Hutch, placed much pressure on all of them, being sure one of them killed the stripper.

The entire scene became murky when one of the clients who was represented by the firm for whom Brian was an attorney became involved in the investigation. Andy's mothers boyfriend, Stephen, offered his assistance to help Andy find her old boyfriend since she did love him and knew he couldn't have killed the stripper, despite what the police think. A strange ransom was demanded. This brought the family together to plan as best they could to end this mess of a puzzle while not losing the money and getting Brian back in one piece--alive!

A very entertaining story containing many humorous parts that allow you to laugh while questioning who did what to who! Good story Susan.

Andy Kendricks, debutante drop-out, finds her boyfriend, the clean-cut Brian Malone, missing after attending a bachelor party at a strip joint. The only clue is that he is seen leaving, via a back exit, with a gorgeous lady working at the club. Shortly thereafter, the person with whom he left is found dead in his trunk.

Andy stands by her man, convinced that he has been framed. But, where is he?

Andy has guts, courage, and a great sense of humor. Being with her on an adventure is a lot of fun.

Susan McBride has written another wonderful "Debutante Drop-out" book. I can't wait for the next one. I'll follow Susan (and Andy) anywhere! --Karen Dyer, Dublin, CA

It's an ironic tradition that has the soon-to-be-married celebrating with strippers right before the wedding, and it's not surprising that these events often result in the loss of members of the wedding party. In Susan McBride's fourth Debutante Dropout Mystery Night of the Living Deb, it's not the groom but his best friend who disappears, leaving his girlfriend Andy Kendricks distraught and seeking answers in some of the seediest strip joints Dallas has to offer.

After her own rather inglorious moment at a Chippendale's show ends with her being photographed by her boyfriend's ex's cell phone, Andy's ready to be forgiving for any misdeeds Brian might have committed after being forced to take the groom to a strip club. But when Brian goes missing after he's last seen in pursuit of a big-busted dancer, her trust is tested as she faces a nightmare with the best situation being that he's shacked up with a silicone dancer, and the worst too horrible to imagine. Teaming up with Brian's ex and fellow attorney Allie Price, Andy hunts down "Trayla Trash" looking for answers and soon ends up seeing a side of Dallas that would have her mother quaking in her Prada pumps.

Once again McBride has written a hilarious mystery that has the reader cheering for Andy as she sinks to one of the lowest points in her life. While a little darker in tone than the previous novels in this series, the odd-couple pairing of Andy and Allie brings a wonderful humor and wackiness to the story. Andy's mother Cissie again proves herself to be than just an elitist socialite, and her love for Andy wins out over their mother-daughter battles. This is a witty, highly entertaining series that continues to entertain and leaves readers eager for more Andy Kendricks adventures.

I usually love contemporary mysteries combined with romance, but I wasn't able to get drawn into this book. The narrative didn't feel immediate, felt like a 'lookback'; the boyfriend sounded really boring; all the various events didn't seem to add much to the storyline: meeting with her Mom, her painting... Just wasn't my type.

I have not read the first three books in this series, but believe me, I AM going to now! Night of the Living Deb had me totally hooked by the end of chapter one! Oh my gosh, the Chippendales scene was hilarious!!!!
Ms. McBride has caught my attention in a big way, and I hope to see many more great books by her in the future!