|
For a heiress with
enough blue blood running through her veins to cause envy in even the
crème de la crème of Dallas society, Andrea ‘Andy’ Kendricks is
surprisingly ordinary and down-to-earth, preferring to work as a website
developer rather than depend upon riches she grew up with – much to her
high society mother, Cissy’s dismay. So, when an old but unpedigreed
girlfriend Molly O’Brien calls and begs for help, good-hearted Andy
jumps to the rescue.
Convinced that
Molly killed her womanizing boss at the seedy local restaurant ‘Jugs’,
the police show least interest in further investigation. Andy
determinedly decides to take up the slack in the investigation in her
own green hands by donning tight clothes, skyscraper hair and a stuffed
bra, and sets out to do undercover work by herself waitressing at
‘Jugs’. There Andy finds plenty of suspects ranging from a popular TV
preacher to an ex-Cowboys cheerleader and a fanatical group called
‘Mothers against Porn’. She also gets plenty of helpful and unhelpful
aid from a handsome young lawyer and her mother who finds the
investigation hilarious fun. Amid all the chaos, can Andy ever find the
true culprit, à la Nancy Drew?
“Blue Blood”
is undoubtedly madcap, humorous and looks a deceptively simple mystery.
But McBride’s devious imagination and plenty of shenanigans on the
characters’ parts, add layers to the story. With plenty of witticisms
and quirky plot points, the tale proceeds at a brisk pace. Andy is utter
fun whether she’s creatively trying to avoid the boring high society men
her mom keeps trying to pair her with or when she gets into her Nancy
Drew mode while disguised as a busty waitress at a sleazy bar. Side
characters like Cissy, add to the general mayhem. In the midst of all
this, a tentative romance develops, emotional bonds are tested to the
limits and a devious murderer lurks unseen as the story races towards a
tense ending. The city of Dallas and surrounding suburbs are described
authentically and add to the charm of the novel. In short - a loopy,
loony, laughter-inducing doozy of a mystery,
“Blue Blood”
is Susan McBride at her best.
Reviewed By Rashmi
Srinivas for The Road to Romance
April 14, 2004 |
