TO HELEN BACK by Susan McBride

Publisher:    Witness Impulse

Published:   July 8, 2014

ISBN:        978-0062359766

Genre:       Cozy Mystery

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

Widowed Helen Evans is an active member of the community of River Bend, Illinois. Without trying she ends up in the middle of a major town dispute over the pending development of a water park.  One of the residents, Milton Grone is selling his land to get that water park going and not everyone is happy about it.  One person is so unhappy he …. or she … hits Milton on the head and kills him.  Since he wasn’t exactly all that popular there is no shortage of suspects.  Unable to believe someone she knows could have killed him Helen starts looking for the killer on her own. Understandably the killer isn’t too happy about this.  Can Helen find the killer before he …. or she … finds Helen?

Susan McBride is one of my favorite cozy authors. She writes with a touch of humor that has you chuckling if not outright laughing out loud – yes, even in a cozy mystery.  Helen is of Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher’s generation but she’s got a fun wit that makes her stand out. 

One thing that caught my attention about TO HELEN BACK is not so long ago there was a news item about someone in a town back east buying up land with a hidden agenda not all that different from this book.  Considering this book was published in 2014 and this news story recently came out it makes one consider if this is a situation of life imitating art. 

If you are a cozy fan this is definitely one series to add to your TBR.  If you haven’t tried a cozy yet, this is a fun series to start off with.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB by Susan McBride

Publisher:     Harper Collins

Published:    January 21, 2014

ISBN:        B00E3D111M

Genre:       Chiklit Mystery

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher via Edelweiss

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE HEARTS

Debutant drop out Andy Kendricks is trying to make it on her own and so far she’s doing just fine.  She does a lot of pro bono web design—but that’s okay because she’s got her trust fund and a lot of those websites are for non-profit type businesses.  Her mom hasn’t quite adjusted to the fact that Andy doesn’t aspire to the same societal heights as she does, but it’s okay because Cissy really does love her daughter.  And Cissy is also fond of Andy’s beau, Brian Malone.  Looking to do the right thing to celebrate their friends’ upcoming nuptials, Andy goes to a male strip club with the bride-to-be and Brian goes to a gentleman’s club.  While Andy makes her way home that night, Brian suddenly disappears.  Not only does he disappear, but a dead stripper is found in the trunk of his car.  Andy is soon on the trail of her missing guy.  Can she find him before the bad guys do him in…and before her “posse” makes a total wrong turn?

Susan McBride’s Debutant Dropout series has been one of the entertaining cozy mysteries out there. McBride has a quick wit that comes through her characters while she reveals a solid mystery.  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEB had some of that witty dialogue and a bit of a mystery, but the story telling overall just fell short.  Up until now Andy has come across like someone you’d like to know and you just have to chuckle at Cissy’s antics.  In this one I didn’t much care either way of Andy found Malone again or not.  It happens—writers hit a wall and this appears to be McBride’s. 

There was some nice character development in terms of Cissy and her new beau and Andy has some nice scenes.  It’s not the best but it does move the main characters to the next level in a solid way.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club by Susan McBride

Publisher:  Harper Collins Witness Impulse
Published:   December 17. 2013
ISBN:  B00E3D113A
Genre:   Cozy Mystery
Book format:  E-book
Obtained via:  Publisher - Edelweiss   
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

Four

 

Trust fund baby Andrea (Andie) Kendricks, has spent a lifetime trying to buck the country club set and her mother’s plans for her to take her place in society.  She hopes one of these days her mom, the Chanel and perfect pearl wearing Cissy, will accept the fact that she likes her job as a web designer for non-profits and about where her dating life is like with attorney boyfriend, Brian.  But when her mom asks for her help by going undercover she agrees…reluctantly.  Just because Andie has solved a few murders doesn’t mean she wants to be involved with helping Cissy find out who killed Bebe, one of her best friends.  But when Cissy moves on into the late Bebe’s retirement home determined to find the killer Andie just can’t let her go alone. 

Once inside it isn’t long before another of Cissy’s friends dies in a most mysterious fashion and now Andie is really on the case.  Once they’re on the inside Andie discovers that the owner of the exclusive retirement community is none other than an old camp friend.  While Andie never thought they were all that close the owner of Belle Meade still thinks the world of our heroine.  But once Andie starts digging into the crime the situation turns even uglier.  In fact, Cissy may be next on the killer’s list.

I totally enjoyed Susan McBride’s first two Debutant Dropout books, BLUE BLOOD and the GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER and couldn’t resist her LONE STAR LONELY HEARTS CLUB.  I was not disappointed.  I love Ms. McBride’s delivery.  She doesn’t take her characters from zero to sixty in book one but gives them time to develop and change in each new story.  She didn’t rush Andie and Brian into a relationship but has given the chance to grow and develop as characters in their own right, getting a little bit closer in each book.  Likewise with Andie’s relationship with her mother, Cissy.  As Andie herself says, it would be so easy just to cave and live the life her mother mapped out for her – but she wouldn’t be happy.  She tries to find a balance between their very divergent wishes and Ms. McBride does a great job tilting that balance one way and then the other in each book.

She has some well-done red herrings interspersed in the story and while I had a notion of who the killer was I was still a bit surprised when the killer was revealed. 

Each story is a standalone and there is enough back story to explain but not weigh down the current tale while you come up to speed on the characters.  If you are looking for a fun read, even if cozy mysteries aren’t quite your thing, McBride’s Debutant Mysteries are fun reads that could end up hooking you on the genre.  I’m ready to open up book 4 in this fun series.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

THE COUGAR CLUB by Susan McBride

Publisher: Avon
Date published: January 2010
ISBN: 978-0061771262
Contemporary romance
Trade Paperback
Reviewed by Valerie
Obtained via publisher



Kat Maguire is about to set out on a new adventure and at forty-five, she’s not sure if she can handle it. She’s just been fired, she’s walked out on her boyfriend and she’s come home. There she meets her two best friends, Carla Moss. Carla is a famous newscaster on the local television. Trouble is, her ex-husband is her boss and it looks like she might be pushed out of her chair by his new and younger girl friend. Elise Randolph seems to lead a perfect life. Though of late, her husband has been staying out more. He says it’s all work, but she’s not so sure. These three women are about to find out that they are still very much alive, beautiful and it’s time to take their lives into their own hands. And the younger guys appreciate that!

This is a very interesting and entertaining read. Ms. McBride gives her readers some really well written characters and I really enjoyed their interaction. It seems to be a problem many women face. Older men seem to be looking more in the direction of the younger chicks while the women feel they are over the hill and life doesn’t hold much more for them. But, as real life has showed, younger men do appreciate the charms and experience of older women. I found myself cheering for these three women and hoped they would find love and peace. Ms. McBride certainly surprised me with a few twists and turns she added to this delightful story. I think the only thing I could say against this story is that these women are successful, beautiful and I think it would be nice to see an ordinary, everyday woman get a handsome hunk of a younger man! One can dream!


THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW