Little Bitty Lies

Mary Bliss McGowan has a problem: Her husband has refinanced their house, cashed in their life insurance, emptied their bank accounts, and run off with every dime. Narrator Debra Monk takes listeners through the Atlanta woman's creative solution, which is to have her wayward partner declared dead. Monk applies an appropriately light air to this comic novel and vocalizes the characters with realistic Southern accents. She lends authentic grumpiness to Mary Bliss's senile mother-in-law and a few elongated syllables to the voice of her best friend, Katherine. As Mary Bliss faces the possible consequences of her situation, Monk brings in a degree of hysteria. Listeners will laugh all the way to a happy ending. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

September 1, 2003
Andrews is the pseudonym of Kathy Trocheck, primarily known for her Callahan Garrity mystery series. If the name switch signals the author's desire to change writing styles, then she's certainly achieved her goal. The Trocheck books are mostly formulaic comic whodunits, but this supremely entertaining story sets Andrews up to be a southern Susan Isaacs. Mary Bliss is so busy propping up her best friend, Katharine, who's coping with her broken marriage by drinking gin and buying expensive toys, that she fails to notice her own marriage is in trouble. Her once dependable husband, Palmer, has cleaned out their accounts and left her with a pile of debt. In desperation, she takes a job as a product-demonstration hostess, but her salary will barely cover the electric bill. She allows Katharine to talk her into a cockeyed scheme to have Palmer declared dead so she can collect the insurance. That's when she meets sexy fraud investigator Matt Hayslip, and things really start to heat up. A breezy story fairly brimming with good spirits and feisty humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)