Too Rich and Too Thin, Not an an Autobiography (Paperback)

~ Barbara DeShong (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Pack your bags for Texas and prepare to meet the strangest family since that little Chainsaw Massacre incident.
Psychologist Jessica LeFave will be your guide, but be forewarned, Dr. LeFave isn t your average shrink, and though her wisecracking lawyer buddy, will try to keep Jessica out of trouble, he might not be able to save you, or himself.
Your journey opens when Jessica is summoned to profile the killer who drove a spike through the heart of the notorious Bernice Jackson. Jessica is more than a little excited. Not because Bernice Jackson is dead, but because Bernice who'd soared to fame and wealth by shamelessly re-writing treasured historical events into wildly successful soft-porn novels and movies was a psychiatry patient of her husband's at the time of his death.
You see, Jessica is convinced her husband was murdered to bury a secret revealed in therapy. Since watching him dragged from the bottom of Lake Austin a Hilton receipt and another woman s wedding rings in his pocket Jessica has been a little crazy, obsessing over his files, even stalking patients with dodgy reputations.
The police dismiss her claims, leaving Jessica on her own to land your Texas tour smack in the middle of the bizarre movie-making family starring a doped up basket case son, a daughter on a death wish eating binge, and the ghost of Bernice Jackson who'd pushed her obsession with seeing herself as young and beautiful beyond any psychotic dream.

About the Author

Barbara DeShong Ph.D.,P.C. is a psychologist in private practice and consulting, primarily as a keynote speaker. She has written a non-fiction book on stress after an editor at a conference in New York heard her speak and invited her to send in a proposal, which was bought. She mentions this though it's non-fiction because she wrote it in the same humorous style and because it was very successful.
Barbara calls the Lone Star state home.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Echelon Press; 1ST edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590806417
• ISBN-13: 978-1590806418
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #659,843 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT Texas Mystery!, September 8, 2009

By	Antoinette J. Bailey "Toni Bailey" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book kept me crazy because I did not want to put it down. It is funny to the point of hilarious (I can totally see this as a movie someday!), and yet quite a crazy mix of intrigue and pieces of Texas philsophy(eclectic Austin in particular) . I'm wondering if it IS a biography....it all sounds so Real....Barbara DeShong is certainly going to be one of my Favorite writers! I look forward to More of her books.

Toni Bailey
Oklahoma

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delightful Read, January 2, 2010

By	Debra Purdy Kong "mystery writer" (Port Moody, BC) - See all my reviews

Psychologist Jessica LeFave is still mourning the death of her husband, David, a few months earlier and frustrated that the police refuse to believe he was murdered. A chance to prove the truth comes unexpectedly when one of David's patients, (David was a psychiatrist) is murdered along with her husband, Harrell. Jessica thinks the murders are linked to David's death, but finding the truth isn't easy. Jackson offspring, Ruthie and Hank, are terribly messed up adults surrounded by people who may or may not have their best interests at heart. Jessica, however, is desperate and obsessed.

Too Rich & Too Thin takes the reader on a humorous adventure filled with mishaps as Jessica tries to investigate without much support from the police. On a deeper level, author Barbara DeShong explores the pain and anguish of family dysfunction, and the lengths some people will go to gain love, respect, and a positive self-image.

The novel was filled with entertaining, eccentric characters and this whodunit kept me guessing the killer's identity to the end. In hindsight, there were enough carefully plotted clues to have figured it out, but I'm just not much good at this. I loved Jessica and her best friend George, and hope to read about many more of her adventures in the future.

4.0 out of 5 stars Action packed murder mystery, December 7, 2009

By	drebbles (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

When psychologist Jessica le Fave's husband is killed in a car accident, the police say it was just that - an accident. But Jessica is convinced her husband was murdered and has been investigating the case on her own. Her husband was a psychiatrist and when one of his patients is brutally murdered, Jessica is convinced it has something to do with her husband's death. Before she knows what is happening, Jessica is involved with a very dysfunctional family, drugs, bikers, Indians, lies, secrets, a crazed killer, and more!

"Too Rich and Too Thin: Not an Autobiography" is an action packed, fast moving, if somewhat convoluted mystery. Author Barbara DeShong gets the action started immediately as the book opens with Jessica helping the police profile the killer of Bernice Jackson and her husband and the action never lets down after that. Jessica is a unique heroine - intent on proving her husband was murdered, even though the evidence points to the contrary. She is intrepid, taking everything in stride as her search for the truth takes her to unexpected and sometimes dangerous places. There is an interesting blend of tension (as Jessica is in danger more than once) and humor (the battle of the pink flamingoes is very funny) throughout the story. DeShong fills the book with interesting, quirky, and sometimes sad characters such as Jessica, Coy Earl Love, Bernice's daughter Ruthie, Ruthie's husband Nigel, Ruthie's ex-husband Joe, and her brother Hank. The book does suffer a bit too much from flashbacks, especially in the first half of the book as DeShong introduces the backgrounds of various characters. However, the mystery is well plotted (if a bit too complicated at times) with a neat twist, and readers will keep trying to guess the identity of the killer.

"Too Rich and Too Thin: Not an Autobiography" is a bit uneven at times, but ultimately is a good mystery.