From Publishers Weekly
McBride's second Debutante Dropout mystery (after Blue Blood) proves as alluring as an Estrada evening dress and as tempting as a slice of death-by-chocolate cake served by the exclusive Dallas Diet Club. The incorrigible Cissy Blevins hasn't given up on restoring daughter Andrea "Andy" Blevins Kendricks, who forsook her debutante season for art school in Chicago and a career as a Webmaster, to her rightful place in society. So when the new TV series The Sweet Life, starring Marilee Mabry, a Texan version of Martha Stewart, has an opening for a Webmaster, Cissy seizes the chance to advance her daughter. With disdain for Dallas high society but an enduring love for her meddlesome mother, Andy serves as the perfect guide to a lifestyle that's the contemporary Texas equivalent of upper-crust Regency. When Andy discovers Marilee's 18-year-old daughter, Kendall, near death on the night of her mother's grand TV debut, the fun really begins. The suspense builds as the do-gooder Webmaster unearths some unpleasant truths about Marilee, Kendall and their shared boy toy and personal trainer, Justin Gable. Though the mystery falters near the end, delicious dishing on social secretaries, Persian rugs and society rags more than compensates. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mystery News
"[A] good read...and Andy is a very likeable heroine. The writing is crisp, fast moving and witty."

Romantic Times
"Funny, compelling like a good soap opera and boasts an extremely likeable heroine."

Sally Fellows for The Mystery Bookstore (Omaha)
"Wonderful and fascinating...[S]it back and let Andy take you on a fascinating trip through Chanel-land."

Mary Neal, TheBestReviews.com
"[A] sharp, witty, totally enjoyable book. Thumbs up for a great read!"

K. Blair for HuntressReviews.com (5 stars)
"Absolutely wonderful! Highly recommended."

Mystery News
"The book is a good read...and Andy is a very likeable heroine. The writing is crisp, fast moving and witty."

Kathy Samuels, Romance Reviews Today
"[A] fast-paced and engrossing tale of murder and romance."

Publishers Weekly
"[A]s alluring as an Escada evening dress and as tempting as a slice of death-by-chocolate cake

Book Description

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 upper crust mama. But thanks to Mother Cissy, Andy's donning designer duds to attend a launch party at the intolerable domestic diva's new Dallas TV studio -- and she's on hand to witness the celebration site go up in flames! Then a body turns up in the rubble, the victim, apparently, of some very foul play. Even though iron-willed Cissy isn't about to let her social calendar be upset by a little inconvenience like murder, her sometime-sleuthing daughter's got a more pressing engagement -- namely, hunting down a killer. But there are more than a few nasty messes tucked away in the Mabry closet -- and a craven assassin who has the Big D elite quaking in their cowboy boots may soon be burying Andy in hers!

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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 upper crust mama. But thanks to Mother Cissy, Andy's donning designer duds to attend a launch party at the intolerable domestic diva's new Dallas TV studio—and she's on hand to witness the celebration site go up in flames! Then a body turns up in the rubble, the victim, apparently, of some very foul play. Even though iron-willed Cissy isn't about to let her social calendar be upset by a little inconvenience like murder, her sometime-sleuthing daughter's got a more pressing engagement—namely, hunting down a killer. But there are more than a few nasty messes tucked away in the Mabry closet—and a craven assassin who has the Big D elite quaking in their cowboy boots may soon be burying Andy in hers!

About the Author:

Susan McBride was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and earned a B.S. in journalism at the University of Kansas, graduating with Distinction. Vowing that nothing would get in the way of her "novel" ambitions, she moved to Dallas and worked a variety of odd jobs in order to support her writing endeavors. Ms. McBride is the author of three novels in her Maggie Ryan series and is founder of The Deadly Divas, a group of four "sassy scribes" who tour the country. She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly