Harper Collins/Perennial, July 2004

The only thing worse than having your husband leave you, taking all your money with him, is having to admit it to your friends and neighbors. Mary Bliss McGowan simply can't face the humiliation. She refuses to be the subject of idle gossip, as so many of her divorcing friends have been in the tony Atlanta suburb where she lives. So, with the encouragement of her outrageous friend, Katherine, she tells one small lie--that her husband, Parker, died. Though Parker cleaned out the bank accounts and mortgaged the house, he overlooked one small life insurance policy, the proceeds of which would allow Mary Bliss to start with a clean slate. Best of all, she could quit her horrible job as a "product demonstration hostess" pushing inedible samples on hapless grocery store shoppers.

But fictionally killing off a husband is harder than it might first appear, especially when persistent (and sexy!) investigator Matt Hayslip keeps showing up at inconvenient times and a bum named Dinky is trying to blackmail you.

Once again, Mary Kay Andrews has created a fascinating world of southern gentility seething beneath the surface with gossip, betrayal and backstabbers. As Mary Bliss's lies pile one on top of another, getting more and more outrageous, I just couldn't imagine how she would get out of her dilemma (without going to prison). And that, in my opinion, is what makes a first-rate novel--really caring about the characters and biting your nails down to the quick as you worry about them. Oh, and the humor--this one was laugh-out-loud funny, over the top but with just enough truth to hit home. One of my favorite reads this year.

See more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Mary Kay Andrews.

Four Stars

Reviewed 8/29/04

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