The Good Girl's Guide to Murder: A Debutante Dropout Mystery

by Susan McBride

Book Overview

Website designer and high society rebel Andrea Kendricks would never have gotten involved with ego-in-pumps life-style hostess Marilee Mabry if it weren't for the underhanded machinations of Andy's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060563907
• ISBN13: 9780060563905
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave!

In the 2nd Debutante Dropout mystery, Andy Kendricks finds herself in a difficult situation. She is designing a website for Marilee Mabry's new TV show, The Sweet Life. Normally, Andy prefers to work for non-profit groups, and tends to shy away from the elite crowd to which she was born. Andy is talked into the job by her mother, Cissy Kendricks, the only close friend of the diva talk show host. And things have been going a little awry for Marilee lately. Nobody seems to like the tantrum prone star, and incidents are happening with increasing frequently on set. A brown recluse spider bites a staff member, a microphone falls on another, and her daughter is poisoned. Is someone trying to kill Marilee or trying to ruin her new show? Could it be the boy toy that both Marilee and her daughter, Kendall, are involved with? Or is it the ex-husband who left Marilee before she became rich and famous? Or is it one of the numerous staff members that Marilee has run off or ticked off? Once again Andy jumps into the mystery and tries to help. When a murder occurs, Andy feels she knows exactly who is to blame. But finding the suspect becomes a bit trickier. Does she have the right person in mind? Will she help the police locate the correct suspect before anyone else becomes a victim? This series is one of my current favorites. I think Andy is a highly entertaining character. Not having endless amounts of money myself, it is sometimes difficult for me to relate to her chosen lifestyle of living way below her means. I do admire it, however, and feel that it makes the character much more believable. (I would, however, suggest that she get a vehicle with good air conditioning. Why suffer?) Just a note on this series. The murder does not happen right away in the book. The author spends time developing the characters before killing them off. So, if you like a mystery that has the death occur quickly, you may be a little disappointed. However, the mysteries are good, and the characters strong. This book is a great addition to the series, and I look forward to upcoming books. The first book in the series is called "Blue Blood". Enjoy!

It's a GOOD thing...

Ever feel like murdering Martha Stewart? Okay, someone like Martha Stewart, only Marth-ier? Yeah, me too. But no way I'm doing time for the crime, so The Good Girl's Guide to Murder is a good way to get to rub her out and solve the Marthacide too. (Okay, her name is "Marilee Mabry" here, but she's the Marth-iest of them all.) And I loved the wacky Texas high society setting and the character sparks between Andy, the rebel "debutante dropout" sleuth, and her socialite diva mom, Cissy. Lots of plot twists and wit and great characters. A Texan I'm not, but McBride's pithy observations of human nature, the good, the bad and the funny, ring true. The Good Girl's Guide is a good thing. (Unless you're poor doomed Martha/Marilee...)

This book has it all -- plotting, characters, wit, romance..

This book was a pleasure to read. Andy Kendricks, the "detective" of the series, is thoroughly likeable, not to mention smart, funny, well-grounded in her values, and gutsy. She grew up with Texas wealth and social credentials but shocked everyone by refusing to go through with the expected debut -- hence she is debutante drop-out. Her society mother is trying to marry her off to an eligible man and doesn't like the fact that Andy's boyfriend spends the night (why buy the cow etc.) The plot involves a Martha-Stewart like character -- Marilu -- who alienates everyone -- except Andy's mother Cissy, who is a Marilu's friend (quite possibly her only friend). Marilu's daughter is an emotional mess and Marilu's employees are treated like dirt (but paid very well). Cissy strong-arms her daughter into doing some web design for Marilu (she is the 7th in a series of web-masters). The actual murder in this book doesn't take place for quite a while, but you don't mind because you know that you're being introduced to the characters for a reason and it's all done with such wit and panache (the scene of Andy with the fireman is very funny). I highly recommend this book, and if you haven't read Blue Blood, the first book in the series, you'll probably want to go back and read that too, although you don't have to read them in order.

Debutante dropout saves the day

Andy Kendricks, the daughter of Dallas socialite Cissy Blevins Kendricks, wants to do anything but dress up and please her mother. As a matter of fact, she skipped her own debutante coming out and went to art school instead. Back in Dallas again, she manages websites, mostly for non-profit organizations. After all, she does have a trust fund. Cissy comes to Andy and begs her to help her dear friend Marilee Mabry, a home guru of the Martha Stewart type, whose show is hitting the TV waves, and she wants the first episode to be shown on a live web cast. She's already been through six webmasters and is desperate along with bossy and conceited and well, let's say hard to work with. Andy doesn't want to do it until her mother bribes her with an Escada dress to die for. Andy arrives early at Marilee's studio/offices to be sure all is set up. As the show gets underway, a cat fight between women erupts setting one woman's hair on fire prompting the sprinklers to go off and the sirens to blare. The lights go out and pandemonium breaks loose. Andy has her wits about her and stumbles back to the office to turn off that live feed so viewers aren't watching the debacle and stumbles across Marilee's daughter Kendall passed out in the bathroom. Andy must figure a way to get help for Kendall in the dark, wet recesses of the office, and pronto. Later we find out that Marilee's personal trainer gave Kendall some herbs. Kendall leaned on Justin as much as her mother did. He actually checks her out of the hospital against medical advice. What agenda does he have with Kendall. Or Marilee? Is he for real, or is he just after Marilee's fortune? You'll have to read this funny, witty, and intriguing mystery to find out for yourself!

Absolutely wonderful.

Andrea Blevins Kendricks, the debutante dropout daughter of Cissy Blevins Kendricks, has just found herself in the middle of another mystery. This one involves Marilee Mabry, a nasty Martha Stewart type, who makes everyone stand on end with just the sound of her voice. Now that Marilee's show is going national, everyone seems to be in her line of fire. But when things start going array, Andy's mind starts racing. Will she be able to figure out who is behind the disasters before the next one gets someone killed? ***** Absolutely wonderful! Andy is so witty and charming. You cannot help but fall in love with her and her eccentric mother. Way to go Susan McBride! Highly recommended! *****