Night of the Living Deb: A Debutante Drop-Out Mystery

Night of the Living Deb: A Debutante Drop-Out Mystery by Susan McBride (2007)

Reader's Annotation

Debutante drop-out Andrea Kendricks' straight-arrow boyfriend hasn't been seen since he followed a stripper backstage at the local "gentleman's club."

Summary

Andy Kendricks' boyfriend Brian Malone is a defense attorney and as straight-laced as they come. That's why she's surprised to hear that he hasn't been seen since following an exotic dancer backstage at The Men's Club, a local Dallas strip joint. Doubly surprised considering that he was the designated driver for his friend Matty's bachelor party. Brian's co-worker and former girlfriend Allie Price, aka The Blonde Menace, encourages Andy to believe the worst, and, when their investigations at The Men's Club turn up testimony that Brian left through the back door with the stripper—stage name: Trayla Trash—Andy begins to have her doubts.

But when Trayla Trash turns up dead in the trunk of Brian's car, she knows something is very wrong—Brian is no killer. With the help of her posse: Allie Price, Andy's socially-connected mother Cissy, and Cissy's very capable man-friend Stephen, Andy handles a ransom demand, a sleazy strip-club bartender, and a stolen painting to finally rescue her boyfriend Brian.

Evaluation

This novel is a very light read with a humorous tone. Despite the brief naughtiness of the strip club and a Chippendale dancer, it is quite tame with no foul language, explicit sex, or excessive violence. The main character, rebellious rich girl Andrea Kendricks, is a pro-Bono web designer for non-profits, but don't expect any references to Internet culture in this novel. In fact, few of the pop culture references are less than forty years old: Starsky and Hutch, Lost in Space ("Danger, Will Robinson!"), Laugh-In ("One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy."). I'd say the Debutante Drop-Out series—this one's #4—is aimed at older women who like a touch of naughty fun. And from the number of positive reviews on Amazon, the series definitely has its fans. However, the main character is a bit passive for my tastes; she's even more inept and dependent on other characters for help than Stephanie Plum. In fact, this seems like the perfect series to read while waiting for the next Stephanie Plum book from Janet Evanovich.

Genres: Mystery/Crime, Chicklit
Subgenres: