Night of the Living Deb

Debutante Dropout #4

by Susan McBride

Renegade rich girl Andy Kendricks isn't the belle of any Dallas ball — and that's just the way the debutante dropout likes it! She's got a good life and a great man: her defense attorney boyfriend, Brian Malone. Brian's such a straight arrow that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a close friend's bachelor party at a sleazy local "gentleman's club."
So why is the groom-to-be saying that Brian left the bacchanal arm-in-arm with "the hottest body in the Lone Star State?" And what was that hot body doing stone-cold dead in the trunk of Brian's car? And where is Brian anyway?
The cops are looking for Andy's allegedly unfaithful/possibly homicidal beau who hasn't been seen since the party. But Andy can't believe her upstanding lover is a murdering fool, and she's determined to prove it — though she might end up with a lot more broken than just her heart.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Chick Lit, Ebooks, Romance

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 30, 2007

About the author

Susan McBride is the USA Today Bestselling author of Blue Blood and five more award-winning Debutante Dropout Mysteries from HarperCollins, including The Good Girl's Guide To Murder, The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club, Night Of The Living Deb, Too Pretty To Die, and Say Yes to the Death. Susan has a second bestselling series with HC/Avon, the River Road Mysteries, that include To Helen Back, Mad as Helen, and Not a Chance in Helen. A fourth installment, Come Helen High Water, will be released in 2017.

Walk Into Silence, a thriller featuring Texas police detective Jo Larsen, was named a Kindle First pick for November 2016 and was the #1 paid Kindle bestseller in the US and UK (and #3 in Australia!). Walk a Crooked Line, the second Jo Larsen book, will be released in July 2018 by Thomas & Mercer.

Susan's young adult thriller, Very Bad Things, was released by Random House in 2014. In addition to her mysteries, she has penned three well-received women's fiction titles from HarperCollins: The Truth About Love & Lightning, Little Black Dress, and The Cougar Club. Foreign editions of Susan's books have been published in France, Turkey, Croatia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria.

Susan has one nonfiction title: In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After 40, which tells her tale of becoming an "accidental Cougar" and marrying a younger man, her cancer diagnosis at age 42, and finding herself pregnant at 47.

She has authored several YA non-mystery novels for Delacorte about debutantes in Houston: The Debs (2008) and Love, Lies, And Texas Dips (2009). Gloves Off, the third book, will be out sometime in the future.

In January of 2012, Susan was named one of St. Louis's "Most Dynamic People of the Year" by the Ladue News. In April of 2012, she was given the "Survivor of the Year" Award by the St. Louis affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. As Susan likes to say, "Life is never boring."

Reviews

[Margitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrea Kendricks thought she new pretty much enough of her boyfriend of four months, Brian Malone, and even thought she might be in love with this lawyer beau of hers. Brian walked the straight and narrow and was even carefully chosen by her ever-interfering mother, Cissy.

He was so clean-cut, such a straight-arrow, not the kind of guy I was normally attracted to, which, in the past, had translated into mostly unemployed artists-cum-bartenders. Definitely not lawyers who went to work in suits, collected regular paychecks, and paid their own rent.
So, in an odd way, Brian Malone was a breath of fresh air."

Andrea even trusted him to take a colleague to a white-collar strip-joint for a bachelor treat. But then Brian disappears and the hot mama of the strip club is found dead in the trunk of his car. The police, and basically everyone else believe he is the murderer.

The only clue she has is that Brian missed her mother's cabbage soup, which everyone in their inner circle knows Chrissy Kendricks was allergic to. What did the message spell?

With only one or two friends believing in Brian's impeccable character, Andrea sets out to find him. But she will have to enter the underworld of the Dallas night life and the police is after her for aiding and abetting her suspect boyfriend. Time is running out fast to find him alive and try to prove his innocence. But it does not look possible.

A really great relaxing, fast-moving, no frills, no fuzz thriller from beginning to end.

It is the fourth book in the Debutante Dropout Mystery Series. A bonus point is that this book, like all the others in the series, has a free-standing ending, which makes it a delight to read. The characters are lovable, often annoying in their imperfection, but endearing to spend time with. I loved the experience.

ARC received from edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com
MY REVIEWS FOR THE SERIES
#1 Blue Blood
#2 The Good Girl's Guide to Murder
#3 The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club
#4 Night of the Living Deb
#5 Too Pretty to Die

[Lucía · Rating 3 out of 5]

light cute mystery

[Susan Gottfried]

When this series is good, it's very very good.

When it misses the mark, it really misses the mark.

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Milisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot how much I loved Susan McBride until I found my paperback copies of the previous novels in this series recently while gathering things to donate to my local friends of the library. So I went hunting for more books by Susan, preferably on audio to entertain me on my 30+ minute one-way commute.

Night of the Living Deb did not disappoint. If you're looking for a fun, amusing read, I recommend Susan McBride and the Debutant Dropout Mystery.

[Karen Potts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrea & her mom Cissy go all out to rescue Andy's kidnapped boyfriend & solve another incidental crime along the way. Good entertainment. Sometimes mildly irritating to see Andy's wealthy family pretty much making anything they want or need happen with their money & connections. Overall, a good series.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery. If you have ever lived in Dallas, it's full of Dallas, TX, landmarks.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was overly snarky and had violent thoughts before the mystery even bagan.

[Arthur b Sutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring

Slow read would have been better with a 100 less pages. Parts seem to drag on forcing me to skip ahead.

[Michelle Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

BF accused of murder

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very light hearted for a thriller. Funny, whimsical, sarcastic and suspenseful.

[Victoria Kiely · Rating 1 out of 5]

book club, otherwise would have DNF'd

[Debbie Oxier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan McBride can always be counted on to provide a good laugh. Her mysteries are simple but oh so entertaining. Andy was born with a silver spoon in her mouth but refuses to conform to the mold. She refused to take part in her coming out party, dresses in jeans and t-shirts purchased from a bargain basement type store, and lives in a simple apartment that suits her style - all much to the chagrin of her mother, Cissy, who continues to try and transform her daughter to what her idea of proper should be. Although the two of them butt head's quite a bit, they are still close and more often than not, Cissy finds herself involved in whatever mystery Andy is working on at the time. In this case, it's the disappearance of Andy's boyfriend, Brian. He's a defense attorney and when the book opens, he's at a gentleman's club with a co-worker who is about to get married. This is the guy's bachelor party, even though it's just the two of them. The guy wanted one last lap dance before tying the knot so in spite of the fact Brian is uncomfortable and feeling totally out of place he agrees. However, when he disappears from the club, apparently with one of the strippers, Andy is assuredly upset. When the stripper is found dead in the trunk of Brian's car and there's no sign of Brian to be found, she realizes something is wrong. The problem is, she can't seem to convince the police or Brian's co-worker and former girlfriend, that the man is in serious trouble. Her only ally is once again her mother who believes without a shadow of a doubt that Brian would never behave in such a manner. The two of them launch an investigation of their own with a little help from Cissy' s new beau, an ex IRS agent. This was such a good read. I got through it in a couple of hours and laughed out loud several times during the course of the book. If you've never tried the author's work and you are looking for something a little more light hearted while still sticking with the mystery genre, one of Ms. McBride' s books would fit the bill. I would definitely recommend.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband accidentally requested this book from the library while trying to request a movie, and since he thought it looked like one I might like, he suggested I might as well read it. I'm so glad he made this mistake! This was a hilarious while thrilling mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Even though I guessed that it was part of a series based on a few lines here and there, the book stood alone very well, and I didn't feel lost at all. The book was written well even though it had too much cursing and innuendo for me to call it a cozy mystery, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were well drawn--some of them were also highly entertaining. So, I will eventually track down the beginning of this series.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hilarious! Andy is the most reluctant deb/heiress that ever was. Cissy is a force of nature and a pretty spooky mummy for anyone to have to deal with. The bad guys never stood a chance. This wacky cast of characters is out to save Malone wherever he may be. The plot is twisty enought to keep anyone guessing.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too cluttery and strained funny. The main character's reactions to events don't feel real. Conversations seem built on the attempt at the most misunderstandings and missed opportunities per square inch.

[Moondance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I stepped into this series at book four, i did not feel lost. Andy hunts for her boyfriend wh went missing after a night at a strip joint. Quirky characters, good plot and fun read. 3.5 stars

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! Andy Kendricks is a character with lots of sass and attitude and a great narrative "voice". This is book four in the series but the first I've read and I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun series where Andrea and her mom handle murder with ease. Her boyfriend Brian is the center of this cozy murder tale. She needs to figure out who is framing him in the death of an exotic dancer. Always a good story with Andy from Ms. McBride.

[Barbi Huhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very amusing read! I loved how Andy would approach things with her attitude and some of her comments. It was very funny at times. I am even thinking about looking into more of this series.

[colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

read 05.10.07

[Spanishteach76 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty good. It's #4 in the series but it doesn't read like you are in the middle of the series. I'm guessing that each novel is an independent story. Enjoy!

[Earthwatchaddict · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining.

[Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome twist in this book!

[Vicky Beltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable mystery with humor and interesting characters.

[Zimmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

light fun read - you know it's going to end well - but the involvement of many of the characters in the final chapter is "cool" -

[Becky C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Get the gist from the product description. I would suggest this series to the Evanovich crowd.