These wonderfully wacky Southern Sisters
stories are what introduced me
to the work of Anne George, and made me a
mystery fan!
| Murder
Dirty Boogies With Elvis (8th and final book in series) |
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The
Southland's most mismatched set of siblings -- flamboyant Mary
Alice and prim and proper Patricia Anne -- are back and ready to
boogie in a King-sized story of hip-shaking mayhem and murder most
tacky. At an age when most women are slowing down, oversized, over-the-top Mary Alice a.k.a. "Sister" -- is always on the lookout for the next good time...and the next husband. Now Sheriff Virgil Stuckey is in line to become Sister's Mister Number Four, which has practical Patricia Anne's level head filling to the brim with a million and one prewedding details. But first there is another important occasion the sisters are looking forward to attending: a gala benefit to raise money for restoring one of Birmingham's unnatural wonders, a towering metal monument to the god Vulcan lately fallen into disrepair. The grand finale is thirty sequined Elvis impersonators high kicking in unison. Enjoying the show from the front row, Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are in the line of fire when one of the dancing Kings keels over dead right into the bandstand. It seems this Elvis clone, one Griffin Mooncloth, has not only left the building ... he's left this life! At first the sisters figure that
the cause of death was a massive heart attack induced by one too
many pelvic gyrations. But the unfortunate Mooncloth's very
dramatic demise is soon discovered to be the result of a
switchblade knife plunged into his back. The plot thickens when
the murder weapon is discovered in Patricia Anne's very sensible
purse. The perennially law-abiding "Mouse" is
understandably all shook up -- and mortified to find herself the
prime suspect in this bizarre case of Elvis elimination. And with
Mary Alice's well-coiffed head in a sunflower-yellow-and-magenta
cloud over her impending nuptials, Patricia Anne's the one who
will have to get herself out of very hot water indeed. |
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Murder Carries A Torch |
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Just back
from vacation in Warsaw, Poland, where they've been visiting
Patricia Ann's newly married daughter Haley, the
dynamic duo has a serious case of jet lag. Patricia Ann is doing
laundry, substituting Windex for Spray 'n Wash, and Mary Alice is
announcing her plans to settle down and get married to the next
non-alpha male she meets, when their cousin Luke (nicknamed Pukey
Lukey, for his childhood affliction of
violent carsickness) stops by with some awful news: his wife
of forty years, Virginia, has run off with a
housepainter named "Monk". When
the three start snooping around the sacred grounds of a small,
white church on Mount Chandler, what they
find points to more than adultery. Not
one, but two dead bodies are discovered. Who murdered them and
why? As Patricia Ann and Mary
Alice set about solving the mystery, more than just a
few unusual developments color their lives outside the
investigation. |
| Murder
On A Girl's Night Out (1st in series) |
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Patricia
Anne, a suburban housewife, is plagued by sibling rivalries in the
form of her sister, Mary Alice. Both in their sixties, these
sisters are total opposites. Blood ties prove strong when Patricia
Anne joins Mary Alice in surveying her most recent purchase--a
country western bar. Before the final papers are signed, the owner
is murdered and the sisters investigate. This book was my
introduction to Anne's fabulous books, and it holds a special
place in my heart. It doesnt hurt matters that I am a huge country
music fan either. |
| Murder
On A Bay Hair Day (2nd in series) |
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The
totally opposite, 60-something sisters Patricia Anne and Mary
Alice are once again drawn into a murder. While attending a party
for local folk artists, the gallery's owner dies of an apparent
heart attack. But the girls soon learn that many of the artists
had murderous designs on the victim. I loved this book as, as I
have all the others. In several of Anne's books I have gone away
learning something...if not about art, or endangered animals or
the like, I have learned what it would be like to have a solid,
loving relationship with a good man (like Fred)! |
| Murder
Runs In The Family (3rd in series) |
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Sister
Mary Alice and Patricia Anne are having lunch with a local, and
very nosy, genealogist in order to delve into their family
heritage, when the lineage tracer is urgently called away by a
local judge. A few minutes later, the genealogist takes a plunge
off the ninth floor of the courthouse, her death labeled a
suicide. Given the scandals the genealogist uncovered, the sisters
are sure some righteous family ensured that their secrets were not
about to leak out. |
Murder Makes Waves (4th in series) |
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Patricia
Anne and Mary Alice head south for some fun in the sun and almost
immediately find a dead body washed up on a quiet beach. And with
their usual wit and uncanny wisdom, the sisters are soon upstaging
the local cops and following a murky trail of dirty real estate
deals, giant sea turtle habitats, and big money interests to catch
a killer. I loved this book too, must have been that 'summer'
getaway feeling |
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Murder Gets A Life was optioned for film years ago - I hope it gets made!! |
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Patricia
Ann can't imagine why Mary Alice is in such an uproar over her boy
marrying sweet little Sunshine Dabbs. The marriage is a done deal,
but it's only proper to pay a call on the family and see how bad
things are. The sisters bump down a dirt road to the family's
trailer park compound, and follow Sunshine's grandmother into her
cozy trailer. But when the sisters fall over a body on the
floor-with a hog butchering knife in his chest - 'Meemaw' is just
shocked to pieces and things get a bit hectic. Once again, the
sisters are right in the thick of a cockeyed world of strange and
bizarre events, helping out the good-old-boy sheriff who hasn't
got a clue |
Murder Shoots The Bull (6th in series) |
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This
time, "Sister's" crazy behavior has landed them both in
the Birmingham jail. It all starts when the sisters jump at the
chance to get filthy rich by joining their good friend Mitzi
Phizer in an investment club-kind - a bunch of amateurs pooling
their money and making brilliant stock choices. But before the
club gets off the ground, the sisters discover that their friend
and co-club member, Mitzi's supposedly faithful husband Arthur
appears to be involved in a little hanky-panky with a woman of
unknown origin. The next thing they know, Arthur is accused of
killing her. Despite the distractions of consoling her distraught
daughter-in-law who claims her marriage is over, and telling Mary
Alice to bug off with her calls about amorous Cedric, an
Englishman with a pencil-thin mustache and a last name Sister
can't remember, Patricia Anne is doing her darnedest to shore up
her hapless neighbors, Mitzi and Arthur. But when there is a
suspicious fire in the neighborhood and Arthur is shot in a place
that won't allow him to sit down at his own murder trial, Patricia
Anne knows she has to stand up for the poor fellow. 2000 Lefty Award Nominee!! On a personal note - the cover for the paperback release has been changed to match the hardcover. A couple of weeks ago the artwork for the paperback was released and it was a nightmare! I'm thrilled to see Harper-Collins stuck with the fantastic original cover!
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