Still Mr. & Mrs. [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary McBride (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

Meet Angela and Bobby Holland - the creme de la creme of the Secret Service. For their latest assignment, they have to go undercover as married housekeepers to protect the President's mother. There is only one major flaw in their plan: Angela and Bobby are on the verge of divorce!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An outrageously fun setup married but separated Secret Service agents Bobby and Angela Holland are forced to work in the home of the president's cranky mother after she receives death threats establishes the opening tone of McBride's (Baby, Baby, Baby) contemporary romance. When emotionally reticent Bobby clams up even further after his kid brother is killed, Angela suffers six months of silence before she decides their marriage is doomed and transfers across the country to L.A. One year later, the undercover job of posing as married domestics is a nightmare for Angela and a dream come true for Bobby, whose awareness that his wife is dating a hot Hollywood star finally spurs him to bare his heart. But with Angela refusing to listen to him, his tongue incapable of saying what he wants it to, his boss questioning his professionalism and "Crazy Daisy," the president's mother, making his life as difficult as possible, Bobby suspects this job may be the end of him. As the death threats become more ominous, the tone darkens and is lightened only by Angela's frustration at playing cook instead of cop a frustration that escalates into panic when the president makes an unscheduled visit for dinner. Like Nick and Nora Charles, Angela and Bobby play well off each other, while Daisy's sharp-tongued comments keep both jumping in this thoroughly enjoyable read. (Sept.) Forecast: An attractive cover image a silhouette take-off on James Bond coupled with blurbs from romance heavyweights Nora Roberts and Christina Skye will do much move units and build McBride, who is best known for her Harlequin series romances, a broader readership.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When the president's mother receives a threatening letter, the secret service springs into action. Margaret "Crazy Daisy" Riordan is none too fond of the agents already protecting her in Hassenfeld, Illinois, so they secretly replace her married housekeepers with a pair of married agents, so as not to offend her or cause a scandal if news leaked out. Naturally, Bobby and Angela are chosen for the job: they're outstanding agents and dedicated to their jobs, but they're not exactly married. After Bobby's brother was killed, Angela couldn't accept that Bobby wouldn't confide his grief in her, and she left him. Now living in California and dating a movie star, Angela is shocked when she arrives at her new assignment to find Bobby as her partner. But Bobby and Angela have to put aside their differences and play along to ensure Margaret's safety. But Margaret figures out that they're agents, and she sets her own secret agenda. McBride's cute romance is full of enough laughs and plot twists to keep readers happy. Alexandra Shrake
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forever (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044661128X
• ISBN-13: 978-0446611282
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Undercover Lovers, March 10, 2003

By 

Jen Vaughn (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Still Mr. & Mrs. (Mass Market Paperback)

Special Agent Angela Holland believed she was happy. Who wouldn't be with a great job that kept her in shape and a boyfriend like Rod Bishop, rated as the Hollywood Hunk of the Year. Unfortunately, Special Agent Angela Holland is still married to Special Agent Bobby Holland. A year and a half ago, Bobby's brother died and the already stoic Bobby completely closed up emotionally, even to his wife.

Meanwhile, President William Riordan has received death threats for his mother at the White House. He solicits the Secret Service to send in a married couple undercover to his mother's house in Hassenfeld, Illinois. Upon arrival to their assignment, Angela and Bobby act as the cook and butler respectively. Angela quickly learns how to cook food that is a little more grand. However, she also learns the feelings she still has for Bobby.

Angela knows a relationship would never work betwixt the two of them because of Bobby's emotional detachment. . .yet they still manage to sleep together in their servent's quarters on a bed the size of a towel.

The estranged couple fights while Mrs. "Crazy Daisy" Riordan finds love of her own in Professor Gerald Dumaurier Gerrard. Comedy ensues as Mrs. Riordan discovers her help is part of the Secret Service and disappears every chance she gets.

McBride created a wonderful story, filled to the brim with tension only a married couple can relate to. Bobby and Angela sincerely love each other and decide that their love takes work. The author speaks through Angela when she states she wants a macho man who for once would cry and wear his heart on his sleeve. Don't we all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romantic tension reaches a new height - Highly recommended, September 20, 2002

By 

C. Penn "WordWeaving" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Still Mr. & Mrs. (Mass Market Paperback)

Margaret Riordan, "Crazy Daisy and mother to the president", soundly earns her reputation of irascible behavior, even taking pot shots at the Secret Service assigned to protect her. When her housekeepers leave for an extended vacation, Margaret appeals to her son to locate some help. She quickly catches on that her new domestic help are really more Secret Service people assigned to her protection, but she does not know of the new threat against her life.

A married couple is assigned to guard the president's mother, attempting to maintain their cover even after Margaret may have caught on. Unfortunately, they have also been separated for almost a year, while neither can remove the ring from their finger. But Special Agent Angela Holland's life has moved on, with a hunky movie star pursuing her favors and begging her to see a lawyer so that he might place his own ring upon her finger.

A year and a half ago, Special Agent Bobby Holland's brother died in the line of duty. With horrible parents, Bobby had always looked after his kid brother, even talking him into signing up with the Secret Service. All of his life Bobby has fiercely guarded his emotions, carefully repressing his feelings. Sadly, it was his inability to express his grief over his kid brother's death that finally drove Angela out the door. Now Angela must act as cook, and Bobby as butler, in an effort protect the president's mother. The question remains as to who will protect them from each other, or their own hearts.

Author Mary McBride demonstrates a dazzling gift for creating unforgettable characters and ridiculously comedic moments in STILL MR. AND MRS. McBride achieves an unusually balanced authorial tone, maintaining a sizzling chemistry between Angela and Bobby without the graphic details common to much contemporary romance. Angela desperately needs Bobby to reveal his heart to her, and his initial effort to "wear his heart on his sleeve" is both amusing and poignant. Their marital struggles are convincing, humorous, and endearing as they struggle with a tiny bed and broken hearts. While readers may be a bit skeptical of a first mother's resentment of protection, Margaret's powerful character will quickly earn the heart of the most discerning reader. This fast paced romantic suspense will keep the pages turning and comes highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Secret Service vs. Craisy Daisy, September 9, 2003

By 

mahikahn (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Still Mr. & Mrs. (Mass Market Paperback)

The plot has been well-covered by others so I won't!

I loved the fact that Angela "the cook" couldn't! It was so funny the way she tried to come up with new ways to serve meals. And Craisy Daisy was a woman after my own heart! She sure didn't let the fact that her son was president to cramp her style! Bobby and Angela obviously belonged together even though Angela didn't seem to realize it.

Angela did however confuse me. She came from a very demonstrative family who are constantly crying. She doesn't like it, yet she wants Bobby to be that way. Bobby had a childhood that forced him to be the adult, the strong one, never showing emotion. He was working hard to show his feelings but Angela told him she would leave him unless he cried. Everyone grieves and/or shows emotion in different ways and we should respect that. But she wanted Bobby to fit in the mold of how she thought he should react. She was also very "push-me, pull-me". One minute telling Bobby she loved him, the next telling him she was getting a divorce. She kept going back and forth which got a little annoying after awhile.

Of course, it all worked out in the end! My copy is waterlogged since I read it at the beach and couldn't put it down! And I've already ordered "My Hero".