Hissy Fit and Savannah Blues

Hissy Fit and Savannah Blues, by Mary Kay Andrews, Perennial, 2005 and 2003

The first time I knew anything about a Mary Kay Andrews book was when I was traveling all the time and getting Books-on-Tape out of the library. I loved the ones by Southern writers, especially women. On a long drive that usually started at four in the morning, these witty books read by a Southern voice kept me awake and alert and laughing.

Savannah Blues was one of the audio books I borrowed from the Patrick County Library, and I laughed aloud most of the way up the state of Virginia on my drive. Andrews is witty, with some hilarious and believable characters that deal with mystery, mayhem and murder with class and Southern flair. When Mom passed the books along to me, it was like meeting an old friend. The main character of Savannah Blues, Eloise Foley, is a picker, an antique dealer that cruises flea markets, yard sales and estate sales for treasures to turn into cash. She also wears vintage clothes and lives in a carriage house in Savannah. She struggles to make a living and has troubles with her ex who lives in the house she lovingly remodeled. Somehow I could seriously identify with this character!

Hissy Fit is also about an independent business woman, this time an interior decorator. Keeley Murdock throws a real Southern hissy fit when she discovers her groom-to-be in a compromising position with her best friend and maid of honor the night before the wedding. Her fit makes history in the town and angers the snobby family of her groom. They try to run her out of business but Keeley saves the day and the town, with the help of the new owner of the local bra factory and her classy aunt that knows where all the bodies are buried.

These books may not be great literature but they are entertaining and fun. I've ordered Little Bitty Lies and I'm checking out other titles by Mary Kay Andrews. Mary Kay has a new blog, The Kudzu Telegraph (what else) with an entertaining first post about her next book and cruising estate sales!