THE LONE STAR LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Susan McBride

"Witty addition to this well-written mystery series."

The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club

Posted: January 15, 2006

There's more going on at the Belle Meade than you'll find at your typical retirement village. Two of the elderly residents have recently dropped dead, and while their deaths were ruled natural causes, Cissy Kendricks is sure her friends met with foul play and is determined to prove their deaths were anything but natural.

Andrea Kendricks isn't sure her mother is on the right track when Cissy moves into Belle Meade, going undercover as a resident. As Cissy's somewhat unwilling sleuthing sidekick, Andy joins her mom more for moral support and to keep Cissy out of trouble than believing there's actually a crime to solve. Still, Cissy may be on to something as she discovers there's more going on in the victims' lives, including a high-priced dating service for women over 60. Could one of their potential dates have had anything do to with their deaths?

McBride's latest Debutante Dropout Mystery is a witty, well- written who-done-it. Cissy and Andy are terrific foils for one another, with just the right amount of parent-adult child tension and humor in their interactions. The mystery element of the story was believable and made sense. This is the third book in this series (including THE GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER and BLUE BLOOD), and even though this story stands independently, I found myself wishing I knew a bit more of Cissy and Andy's history. McBride's fans are going to enjoy this one!

Book Summary

...which is why Bebe Kent joined a dating service for "discriminating" seniors soon after relocating to the swanky Belle Meade retirement community. Unfortunately, Bebe didn't live long enough to meet "Mr. Right." And though doctors declared her death totally natural, extravagant blue- blooded Dallas socialite Cissy Blevins Kendricks believes her old friend's demise was hastened -- and she's ready to check herself into Belle Meade incognito to prove it.

Cissy's rebellious, sometime-sleuthing daughter, Andrea, wants no part of her mother's glittering social whirl -- and she's anything but pleased to have Cissy muscle her way into Andy's milieu. She has no choice, however, but to join her mom in search of the truth -- especially when more well-heeled widows start turning up dead...