“Murder on a Girls’ Night Out” is a slightly irreverent but completely hysterical cozy mystery. Patricia Anne is our point of view character, a sixty-year-old woman of slight stature who is often called by her childhood nickname of “Mouse” by her sister, Mary Alice. Mary Alice is the exact opposite of Patricia Anne in every way. She’s big and brash, uses terrible grammar, and has lots of money. Together these women are an unstoppable team, reading each other’s minds and finishing the other’s sentences.
This premiere book in the series won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel, and beings with Mary Alice’s announcement that she has just purchased a line dancing club called the Skoot ‘n’ Boot. She wants Patricia Anne to come see it with her, so they hop in Mary Alice’s car and drive over. The place is dark and a little bit seedy, as is the current owner, Ed. Patricia Anne isn’t sure what Mary Alice is getting herself into, but she’s obviously excited about her new scheme. Maybe with a whole lot of work, the place could be something.
Patricia Anne is excited to learn that one of her former students in AP English, Henry, is the chef at the Skoot ‘n’ Boot. She’s glad to see him again, but that’s about all the gladness there is to be found in the situation – Ed is murdered in the establishment and the sisters are called in to give their statements, being the last ones to see him alive. From there, the story takes a rollicking turn as they try to solve the mystery, getting involved in a political campaign and eating Henry’s fabulous cooking at the same time.
There is a little bit of language and just a tetch of earthiness, overshadowed by overall humor and personality. I enjoyed this book quite a bit.
(This book was published in 1996 by Avon Books.)
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