Friday, October 09, 2015

Say Yes to the Death -- Susan McBride

Andrea (Andy) Kendricks is the Debutante Dropout, and this is the 6th book in the series about her.  The setting is Dallas, Texas, which is fun for me because even though I'm not a Dallas resident, I recognized a lot of the places mentioned in the course of the story, which begins at a high society wedding attended by Andy and her mother, Cissy.

Andy has a clothing malfunction and meets the wedding planner, who happens to be Olivia La Belle, known as La Belle from Hell back in Andy's school days, and she doesn't seem to have changed a bit.    One of the bridesmaids has dropped out at the last minute, and Olivia needs a replacement.  Andy needs a dress.  Olivia bullies her into wearing the bridesmaid's dress and taking part in the wedding.  Not too long afterward, Olivia is murdered.

The primary suspect in the killing is sweet old Millicent Draper, longtime friend of Andy and her mother.  She wouldn't kill anyone, would she?  Andy doesn't think so, and she's soon amateur sleuthing all over the place with a bit of help from her fiance, Brian Malone, who's also Millie's lawyer; her mother; and her best friend, reporter Janet Graham.

Zippy first-person narration, a plot complicated by some sexual revelations, and a lot of humor.  It all adds up to an entertaining cozy and a nice change of pace from some of the bleaker material I read.  Check it out.

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