Murder on a Girls' Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mystery, 1)
Murder on a Girls' Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mystery, 1) book cover

Murder on a Girls' Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery (Southern Sisters Mystery, 1)

Mass Market Paperback – January 9, 2001

by
Price
$8.99
Publisher
William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0380780860
Dimensions
4.19 x 0.64 x 6.75 inches
Weight
4 ounces

Description

From Publishers Weekly A refreshingly different heroine, retired Alabama schoolteacher Patricia Anne Hollowell, is drawn into a murder investigation after her colorful sister, Mary Alice, buys a country-western club. When the previous owner is found gruesomely murdered, the suspects include the club's cook, one of Patricia Anne's former prize students. Sprightly dialogue and a humorous eye for detail get this mystery off to a promising start. However, once the offbeat characters are introduced, they and their relationships fail to change or deepen. The dialogue becomes repetitive, and the telling domestic observations lapse into trivia. Clues accumulate more through coincidence than through investigation, with the conclusion weighed down by a welter of implausible connections and old secrets. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. "Truly delightful, laugh-out-loud fun. I wish Patricia Anne and Mary Alice were "my" sisters. I'd love to hang out with them."-- Jill Churchill"Anne George may be my favorite discovery of the year...The Patricia Anne and Mary Alice mysteries are wonderful confections that prove life is funny and poignant on the other side of 60." -- "New Orleans Times-Picayune""Anne George may be may favorite discovery of the year... The Patricia Anne and Mary Alice mysteries are wonderful confections that prove life is funny and poignant on the other side of 60". New Orleans Times-Picayune A Different Kind of Sister Act Patricia Anne -- "Mouse" -- is respectful, respectable, and demure, a perfect example of genteel Southern womanhood. Mary Alice -- "Sister" -- is big, brassy, flamboyant, and bold. Together they have a knack for finding themselves in the center of some of Birmingham's most unfortunate unpleasantness. Country Western is red hot these days, so overimpulsive Mary Alice thinks it makes perfect sense to buy the Skoot 'n' Boot bar -- since that's where the many-times-divorced "Sister" and her boyfriend du jour like to hang out anyway. Sensible retired schoolteacher Patricia Anne is inclined to disagree -- especially when they find a strangled and stabbed dead body dangling in the pub's wishing well. The sheriff has some questions for Mouse and her sister Sister, who were the last people, besides the murderer, of course, to see the ill-fated victim alive. And they had better come up with some answers soon -- because a killer with unfinished business has begun sending them some mighty threatening messages... Anne George (c.____ - 2001) was the Agatha Award-winning author of the Southern Sisters mystery series which culminate in Murder Boogies with Elvis , publishing in August 2001. Like Patricia Anne, she was a happily married former school teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama. Ms. George was also a former Alabama State Poet and a regular contributor to literary publications. During her lifetime she was nominated for several awards, including the Pulitzer. Being a true lady of the Old South, her date of birth will forever be a mystery. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • A Different Kind of Sister Act
  • Patricia Anne -- "Mouse" -- is respectful, respectable, and demure, a perfect example of genteel Southern womanhood. Mary Alice -- "Sister" -- is big, brassy, flamboyant, and bold. Together they have a knack for finding themselves in the center of some of Birmingham's most unfortunate unpleasantness.
  • Country Western is red hot these days, so overimpulsive Mary Alice thinks it makes perfect sense to buy the Skoot 'n' Boot bar -- since that's where the many-times-divorced "Sister" and her boyfriend du jour like to hang out anyway. Sensible retired schoolteacher Patricia Anne is inclined to disagree -- especially when they find a strangled and stabbed dead body dangling in the pub's wishing well. The sheriff has some questions for Mouse and her sister Sister, who were the last people, besides the murderer, of course, to see the ill-fated victim alive. And they had better come up with some answers soon -- because a killer with unfinished business has begun sending them some mighty threatening messages...

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(375)
★★★★
25%
(313)
★★★
15%
(188)
★★
7%
(88)
★
23%
(287)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Fun Debut Novel

Mary Alice (Sister) is excited when she bursts in on her sister Patricia Anne (Mouse) to announce that she's bought the Skoot 'n' Boot, a local dance bar she's been enjoying going to. But her excitement turns to horror the next day when the previous owner is found murdered in the establishment. Vowing to stay out of it, Mouse keeps getting drawn in by various people, including one of her former students. Things get personal when the killer starts making threats. Will these sisters be able to figure things out?
This is a fun, cozy book. The pace is slow and steady with plenty of time given to the sister's antics, yet I never got bored with the storyline. I often found myself chuckling at a line or scene, and a couple times laughed out loud. The two sisters are very different, but what could have been caricature was capably turned into character development by the author. The rest of the characters filled their rolls quite well.
I'm looking forward to getting to know these sisters and their family and friends better over the course of the series. This is a fun debut that promises great things in the books to come.
23 people found this helpful
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Get These "Girls" to Take You Out!

You've got to love the 60 & 65 year old sisters who are polar opposites, I particular think the dialogue and writing is way above the norm. "Mary Alice giggled. She's 65 years old but she still giggles like a young girl. And men still love it." .... "`Nice,' I said, feeling a slight slip in my personal reality cog." And the audio book a PERFECT marriage of reader and material - I couldn't wait to go to my car, and then didn't want to reach my destination. From the first lines of this story, which I listened to in unabridged format, I knew I'd found something special. Anne George manages to touch on just the right formula of family dynamics and occasional insanity, with sisters Patricia Ann and Mary Alice. The rather convoluted plot takes second stage to the wonderful personalities and characters and the craziness we all have in our families. From sperm bank babies to aging hippies, mother/daughter issues, and the lovably annoying spousal unit - I'm real excited there are more Southern Sisters books!
11 people found this helpful
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What a super, super book!

This is a super, delightful book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the whole thing and can't wait to order the other seven in the series. I usually shy away from books writen about women detectives in the South. I have had some very unpleasant reading experiences in that genre. Not so with this book. Anne George hit everything spot on when it came to the locale, the characters and their personalities, the local and regional vernacular, the customs of the region, and on and on and on. This book was a humdinger!

I really loved reading about these characters because I actually know each and every one of them. I loved reading about this location because I've driven through these places more times than I can count. I loved reading the dialogue between Mary Alice and Patricia Anne because I've participated in those conversations all my life. Wow! What a writer. And as if that wasn't enough, the mystery was actually quite interesting. From a very picky mystery reader those are words of high praise indeed. Haven't we all ridden down a highway and seen a "joint" like the Skoot 'n Boot and wondered what went on inside that place on a Saturday night? Well, now we know. Somebody got murdered inside this joint. In fact, killed enough ways to murder him three times - which turned out to be two times too many.

The book was totally laugh-out-loud funny. I even made my poor husband sit through times when I read it out loud to him. He smiled politely. Then I read those same passages out loud to my daughters and they almost collapsed on the floor laughing. What can I say, it's a woman's world inside the covers of this book and Anne George captured it perfectly.
5 people found this helpful
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Murder at the Scoot is a Hoot

I picked up this book expecting two twenty-something sisters solving hard-boiled crime. Was I ever pleasantly surprised to meet Patricia Ann and Mary Alice - sixty-something and full of humor and curiousity. They're Birmingham, Alabama steel magnolias who are definately nineties ladies.
If you like Diane Mott Davidson's books, you'll like these ladies. There are plenty of laughs (particularly if you are close to any sixty-plus ladies) and enough mystery to keep the reader interested.
This review is based on the Recorded Books unabridged tape which is narrated to perfection by a Ruth Ann (who must be Patricia Ann's soul sister).
5 people found this helpful
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Smart Girls Talk

It's been a long time since Jimmy Carter's sixtyish mom joined the Peace Corps - and not a whole lot of role models have taken her place. "Murder on a Girls Night Out" presents an authentic, rare and funny depiction of two sixtyish sisters: Patricia Ann, the conservative and married one, and Mary Alice, single but going on her nth husband, who share in solving a murder at the country and western joint recently purchased by Mary Alice. The plot could use more pre-climax development, but the characters are real and wonderful. Worth reading, especially if you're getting older and could use a refreshed outlook
5 people found this helpful
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Sibling rivalry of the most humorous kind.

Never have two sisters been such polar opposites and never have two been so amusing when solving murders of every kind. In this episode of the "Southern Sisters", Mary Alice's plans for starting a new business are turned around when a dead body is discovered at the Scoot 'N Boot country western bar. Undaunted,she teams with her sister to solve the murder. Laugh a minute, and a quick read.
4 people found this helpful
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Cute but boring

I am surprised that I didn't love this book given the outstanding reviews. I was so excited when I picked it up and kept reading and reading waiting for that hook that lures me in making it impossoble for me to put the book down. But the hook never appeared - I was very underwhelmed by this one. The story focuses on the endearing relationship between two retired sisters who live in Alabama. This relationship carries the book. The actual murder part of the story is sort of in the background. Patricia Anne is a retired teacher who is still in love with her husband aftere 40 yers of marriage, She happens to have an "out there" sister who is her polar opposite who married and buried three husbands and just bought a country western bar where a murder occurs. Patricia Anne thinks her sister is crazy yet follows her everywhere througout the story. I was hoping for a funny read and found it "cute" but not really all that interesting, entertaining or "meaty". A nice little cozy but not something that makes me want to pick up the next book in the series. It's not a bad read - just not an exciting or very interesting read. I was hoping for a quirkier witty older woman lead like Agatha of the Agatha Raisin series. I like the focus on the sisterhood between Patricia and her sister but otherwise the mystery part of the book left me wanting for more.
3 people found this helpful
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Profanity on Almost Every Page

Two elderly sisters in Birmingham, Alabama, have a relationship that consists mainly of wisecracking and eating. The older, wealthier sister buys a dance hall and takes her sister to see it. On their second visit, they find the previous owner dead. The mystery immediately gets put on the back burner, while the sisters go about their everyday lives, eating fried chicken, shopping with daughter, making coffee, and feeding the dog. This hum-drum, daily routine goes on for a very long time (150+ pages) until the story finally gets back to the murder mystery. A second murder occurs near the end and is eye-witnessed so no sleuthing is required. No single person was ever pinpointed as the murderer of the first guy but it was stated that it was probably some guys related to the second victim.
This is a character-driven book, very, very thin on plot. The so-called mystery is never developed. I deplore profanity, which is banned by the Ten Commandments just as murder is. I will never read another Anne George book because of the profanity. Also, I prefer plot-driven books in the Agatha Christie style. Overall, I didn't find it very interesting, but I read it because I was curious about the type of book that wins awards.
2 people found this helpful
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Cozy--yes, mystery--maybe

If you love a good mystery, be warned. There's very little sleuthing, and the solution comes tumbling out in what amounts to an info-dump or two. The end of the book feels rushed and I couldn't buy the last minute god-in-the-car rescue. That's the bad.

Here's the good: characterization is deftly written, descriptions at times are downright luminous (without being obtrusive), and George's dialog rings true throughout the book. I enjoyed the leisurely pacing of the first 3/4 of the book. I enjoyed the 60-something sisters with their preoccupation with family and home life. I expect I'll try out another book or two in this series to see how it goes. I'd give it another half star if I could.
2 people found this helpful
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A real knee slapper.

Anne George is so funny! Her humor comes in many levels, from subtle to slapstick, but she never fails to entertain. This is a must read for all Anne George fans, and if you haven't been introduced to her writing, get ready for some fun. But don't make the mistake I made. This was my first Anne George novel that I read, I thought it was going to be a serious murder mystery, where the idea was to figure out "Whodunnit". Okay, I admit that's part of it, but the real joy comes from seeing the world through the eyes of such a creative mind; the humor that springs forth from the ordinary that most of us miss, but Anne catches it and shows it to us and makes us laugh.
My advise is to read all her books. It is time well spent. Sadly, the world has lost a great fiction writer, but her wonderful work lives on.
2 people found this helpful

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