Customer Reviews

Savannah Blues (Nova Audio Books)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

What a fun book. Beginning with a brave (or is it brave-faced?) heroine who tarts up very effectively and wrapping up several subplots with snorting good justice all around, this book kept me turning its pages long after bedtime.

I hope Mary Kay Andrews isn't all written out after this book, because she blew tons of great lines and a lot of knowledge about Southern antiques. She introduces some interesting ideas about artifacts in Southern furnishings and shares just enough information about how reproductions, like certain women, can be tarted up to look almost authentic. It's enough to make a girl want to clutch her pocketbook real protectively the next time an Empire table seems to call her name!

Avoid this book, please, if you are easily offended, because you will find plenty of bait here. There's at least a couple of scarlet women, a "non-traditional" couple that is pretty much closeted, some less-than-totally-serious engagement with an older woman's alcoholism, and some send-ups of stereotypes that will send their marks whining for rebuttal.

I don't care. And if you are looking for a thoroughly entertaining romp outside the ordinary lives of most of us, neither should you. You'll enjoy the characters, their stories (including the big mystery at the book's center), and the writer's delicious descriptions and one-liners.

Edgar Best Novel nominee, Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck) delivers the goods in this lighthearted novel of tidy murder, great cooking, and the down and dirty side of the antique business. Not only is "Savannah Blues" living breathing, Savannah, it's a given this story could happen nowhere else.

Our heroine, Weezie, wins the prize for most unusual occupation; she is a picker, a trade only known in the antique business. She "finds" items from kitsch to Empire sideboards and sells them to antique dealers. She hits the flea markets, yard and estate sales, and even does a little dumpster diving in the course of a business day. Weezie is a bad-luck divorcee. In the settlement she got the carriage house in the back yard and one-half of the closed garden while her ex got the lovingly restored (by Weezie) historic townhouse. To make her misery complete, the ex has installed the "other woman," the beauteous Susan, in the townhouse and even gave her Weezie's slot in the garage for her jazzy sports car.

Weezie is illegally "previewing" an estate sale at a run down plantation in the dead of night, opens a closet and out falls the body of her rival Susan. Weezie is the prime suspect, and her friends rally round: Uncle James, an in-the-closet gay lawyer who was formerly a priest, best friend BeBe (pronounced Bay Bay); Daniel, master chef and incipient lover; and Merijoy, rich, social, dedicated Preservationist and jaw-droppingly efficient young mother.

Even the smallest characters are quirky and unexpected. Weezie's highly proper mother starts her day with half-and-half (iced tea and Four Roses). Andrews' dialogue is dead-on Savannah-speak, and I kept thinking the characters from "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" were going to join the fun at any moment. Weezie has to be the most nonchalant murder suspect in the annals of crime. She assumes (I presume) justice will prevail and goes about her business, obtaining an unusual antique cupboard and shooting herself in the foot in the romance department.

This is a romp and a character study; so much so that long stretches go by when no one even thinks about the murder mystery. Andrews pours on too much in the last quarter solving the murder and righting the wrongs to the point the reader is confused. I felt like I had been called in from recess to study for the final. All in all a delightful book. Andrews and Savannah can take a well-deserved curtsy.
-sweetmolly-... Reviewer

This book had me hooked from page one to the last page ~~ it's witty, quick and brash and at the same time, it is bittersweet. It's a wonderful Southern lit book ~~ and it's one of my favorites. This is the first time I have ever heard of Mary Kay Andrews and I am hooked.

Weezie Foley lands in the midst of a murder-scandal accidentally while looking for a bathroom at an estate sale ~~ and how she gets out of it is a hilarious tale in itself. Then revelations about family members, ex-husband, new boyfriend and friends spice up the entire book with their tales ~~ this book keeps you on its toes and never lets up till the last page is turned!

If you like mystery with a good dash of romance ~~ this book is for you. Not only is it fun ~~ it is hilarious in some places ~~ these Southerners have a great sarcasm and it shows. Nothing seems to stop them except extreme humidity ~~ and an icy gin and tonic can cure that. So grab that bottle of suntan lotion and head for the lake or the nearest shade and enjoy! Don't forget your iced tea ~~ this book will leave you with a hankering for a drink!

4-25-03

Mary Kay Andrews has a hit on her hands with Savannah Blues! This is a wild ride through the in's and out's of Savannah as seen through the eyes of a local antiques "picker". Departing from her usual genre of mystery to a broader scope of location novel, Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck) takes us into the world of Savannah's elite and those not so well-heeled. She weaves a funny and heart-warming tale of loss and love found in unexpected places! A 10!

When Eloise, a struggling anitque picker, divorces her wealthy husband Tal and decides to live in the carriage house behind Tal and his girlfriend, Caroline, you know that the author has a quirky and wonderful story that will unfold page by page!!!

Eloise sneaks into an old home where an estate auction is to be held and is found beside a murdered woman. She has motive and opportunity but claims innocence. While fighting to prove her story she relies on her Uncle who is about to reveal a family secret. On top of all this, Eloise' mother has a problem that will need the entire family to "circle the wagons" and help out.

Mary Kay Andrews brings her delightful sense of humor and a delightful sense of timing to this fun, fast story that deals with some serious issues and yet never takes itself to seriously.

Weezie and Caroline go head to head over a crumbling plantation house. Caroline has big plans to bulldoze the historic building and put up a paper mill. Weezie wants to save the house as a historic landmark--and get her hands on the fabulous, valuable antiques within. One cupboard in particular has caught her eye. If she can score it, she'll make enough profit to open her shop.

But Weezie's overzealous interest in the house and an upcoming sale of the contents lands her squarely in the middle of a murder investigation--with the murder weapon in her possession. And in the middle of everything, she's trying to deal with a mother whose drinking problem has hit a crisis point, as well as a formerly-nerdy-boyfriend-turned-hunk who still has the hots for her.

This book was so much fun to read. It's been a long time since I could cheer for a heroine as endearing as Weezie. The characters were sharply drawn and so true to live, even as they were exaggerated. Weezie's best friend, Bebe Loudermilk, is a delight, and her uncle, an ex-priest-turned-lawyer coming to terms with his homosexuality, is a wonderful character. Much of the book is told from his point of view, in third person, while the rest is first person from Weezie's viewpoint. It's an odd set-up, but it works.

If there was any fault to find in this book, it was that the author went a little gentle with the heroine. Yes, Weezie got herself into terrible fixes, but there were times when she wiggled off the hook a bit too easily. (For example, though she was initially suspected of murder, no one really thought she did it and she was never charged.) Also, the solution to the mystery was less than satisfying. I can't say more than that without giving something away.

Still, the book was so thoroughly readable, so engaging, that I didn't really care about the mystery all that much. I just wanted to keep spending time with those delightful characters.

I loved, loved, loved this book! Such a fun, light, uplifting and riveting read! The characters were hilarious and very well-developed. In fact, I think I know more than one of those snooty b--ches!!! I enjoyed reading and learning about the intriguing world of antiques...and the murder plot was ingenious. It kept me guessing until the end. A delightful read that I very highly recommend. I'm looking forward to more from this wonderful Southern Belle!!!

I'm fairly new to Andrews writing, but already a big fan. I absolutely loved this book & couldn't put it down. I would defiantly suggest it to anyone looking for a great summer time read!

I rarely laugh out loud when reading a book, but this book is hysterical! Weezie, the main character, got completely screwed in her divorce to Tal Evans whose family is considered Savannah high society after he cheated on her. She now lives in his backyard in a carriage house while he moved his mistress into the townhouse.

When Tal's fiancee winds up dead, Weezie is accused of her murder. She tries to get on with her life, and her best friend BeBe tries to set her up with the new chef in town. The new chef happens to be a fling from the past.

This is a must read. I have also read Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews and it is equally as great!

I liked this book. Actually I REALLY liked this book. There are some little factual errors that may muddle the mind of the most finicky of readers but as long as you understand going in that this book isn't meant to be fine literature you won't be disappointed. That being said it is a good read and as far as chick lit goes, very well written and entertaining. Books fulfill many needs for their readers and this one is pure mind candy. It isn't heavy, deep literature with political or social overtones. It's a fun read that isn't too taxing but it isn't trash either. I think I'll call it great Entertainment Fiction and leave it at that.