Too Pretty to Die: A Debutante Dropout Mystery

by Susan McBride

Book Overview

They call them "pretty parties," and they're the latest rage among Dallas debutantes--get-togethers with light refreshments, heavy gossip, and Dr. Sonja Madhavi and her magic Botox needles. Former socialite Andy Kendricks normally wouldn't be caught dead at such an event, but she's attending as a favor to her friend Janet, a society reporter in search of a juicy story. And boy does she find one when aging beauty queen Miranda DuBois bursts into...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060846011
• ISBN13: 9780060846015
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Avon Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Great Summer Read!

I've just turned the last page on TOO PRETTY TO DIE by Susan McBride, and I loved it! The characters were so colorful but real, and the dry sense of humor was right up my alley. This is definitely not your typical mystery. Andrea Kendricks, the Debutante Dropout, gets dragged into a situation she'd rather avoid but can't. When her one-time classmate, beauty queen Miranda, dies unexpectedly after going ballistic at a Dallas "pretty party" with a celeb-dermo who'd scarred her for life, Andy gets caught up in the action when the cops call it suicide. Bravo to McBride for a light summer read that pokes fun at society's obsession with beauty and perfection. I'd recommend this series to anyone who hasn't tried it yet. You might want to start at the beginning with BLUE BLOOD and work your way through them.

Society girl gone normal

A normal woman fighting the "society" image, and winning! But she always seems to sully her background by tripping over dead people. No matter, she can handle it! She proves all beauty is skin-deep, it's what's inside that counts.

McBride's best book yet

I'm upset at Avon Books. They've decided to shake up their mystery line and have dropped one of my favorite cozy writers, Susan McBride. And that, dear readers, is why this review is so late in coming. I got my hands on a galley copy of Too Pretty to Die in November 2007 and voraciously read Andy Kendricks latest escapade cover to cover in three nights. Too Pretty To Die is the fifth and final installment of the Debutante Dropout Mystery series. Maybe that's a good things because it seems that dropout debs are turning up everywhere in the bios of a host of young writers-like Cornelia Read. But always keep in mind that Susan McBride was the first to write about a woman named Andy who was just too hard-headed to do what her Momma wanted. This time, Andy gets dragged to a "pretty party" by her society reporter friend Janet, who is looking for the big story that will save her career. At this party the Dallas elite get Botoxed as they drink champagne and backstab each other. In stumbles Dallas' most beautiful new anchor, Miranda DuBouis, and takes a pot shot at the doctor with the magic needles. It seems that something went astray during Miranda's last visit to Dr. Madhavi and her face is so deformed that her career may well be over. Andy, in a gesture of compassion and an overabundant need to get the heck out of Dodge-and back to her dude whom she left sleeping in her bed-drives the drunk Miranda home and leaves her snoring it off. Then Miranda turns up dead and Andy becomes "the last person to see Miranda Dubois" alive. Too Pretty To Die is an easy read with enough twists to keep me guessing who did it. It is also McBride's best-written book yet. Readers who follow McBride can see her become a better writer with each book. Still, unlike Miranda, McBride's career is not over. She's signed with Delacourt and is busily fulfilling a contract with books about debs for a young adult audience. Armchair Interviews says: McBride is a good storyteller.

Susan McBride has done it again!

Susan McBride's wicked sense of humor skewers again while entertaining at every turn of the page! My recommendation -- don't take a vacation without packing this paperback to add extra fun to the trip. You aren't taking a trip? Indulge yourself at home (or in your work cubicle while no one is looking) with a fun read that crackles with sharp observations and provides pure escapism from everyday life as most of us know it.

This is not one to miss!

The latest rage among all the Dallas debutantes is called a Pretty Party. Doctor Sonja Madhavi and Lance Zarimba, her boyfriend/aesthetician, show up with their "Botox in the Box" kit full of syringes and give little samples to each party guest. Few attend these parties and never show up at the Pretty Place boutique for treatments afterward. Former socialite Andrea "Andy" Kendricks would rather have a root canal than attend one, but attend she did. It was a favor to her close friend Janet Graham, a society reporter for the Park City Paper (PCP). And the juiciest story in the area drops into Janet's lap when aging beauty queen Miranda DuBois slams into the room full of alcohol, rage, and a small gun. Miranda is a star anchorwoman and went to the good doctor for just a tad of face work. Unfortunately, Miranda had "an adverse reaction to the wrinkle filler". Luckily the only thing hit by the bullet is a Picasso. Andy calms Miranda down and takes her home to bed. The next morning Miranda is found dead. The last thing Andy wants is to be dragged into another gut-wrenching drama. However, Miranda's mother is out of the country and the police think the death is by suicide. So Cissy Blevins Kendricks, Queen Bee of Dallas Society (a.k.a. Andy's mother), is named trustee of all Miranda's possessions. Add to this that Miranda's mother insists Cissy hire someone to conduct an independent autopsy (to draw his own conclusions separate and apart from the M.E.) as well as a private investigator. To make matters go from bad to worse, Cissy and the deputy have an argument, which everyone hears because the microphone was still on by mistake, so everyone knows that Andy was the last known person to see Miranda alive AND hears Cissy's claim (a.k.a. lie) that Andy has proof it was not suicide! Here we go again ... ***** This is one fun and sassy read. Only Susan McBride can create such an amusing mystery that simply overflows with ... ah, tea and vinegar. The Debutante Dropout Mystery Series just seems to get better and better. This is not one to miss! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.