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Landing a catch like Talmadge Evans III got Eloise "Weezie" Foley a jewel of a town house in Savannah's historic district. Divorcing Tal got her exiled to the backyard carriage house, where she has launched a spite-fest with Tal's new fiancée, the elegant Caroline DeSantos.
An antiques picker, Weezie combs Savannah's steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures when she's not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. But an unauthorized sneak preview at a sale lands Weezie smack in the middle of magnolia-scented murder, mayhem...and more. Dirty deals simmer all around her—just as her relationship with the cutest chef in town heats up and she finds out how delicious love can be the second time around.
Trocheck explained in an interview with Reading Group Guides.com the reason for adopting a pseudonym (derived, by the way, from combining the names of her two children): "Because Blues is so different from my Callahan books, I wanted a chance to try for a whole new group of readers, people who like women's fiction, Southern fiction, and still, mysteries. That Mary Kay is a pseudonym for Kathy Hogan Trocheck is not a secret from my fans."
Savannah Blues introduced readers to Eloise "Weezie" Foley, whose marriage to the wealthy Talmadge Evans III suffers a fatal blow when he announces he is in love with someone else. When Talmadge's mistress moves into his Savannah mansion, it's the backyard carriage house for Weezie, who soon begins to devise a plan to get revenge on her cheating hubby. Blues may have been a marked departure from Trocheck's grittier early work, but it was a rousing success on all fronts. Publishers Weekly hailed it as "delightfully breezy, richly atmospheric" and Kirkus reviews called it "pure fun."
Soon, Mary Kay Andrews had assumed a life of her own. A year later, she published Little Bitty Lies, followed in 2005 by the joyfully wacky New York Times bestseller Hissy Fit. Having revisited the world of her irresistible protagonist Weezie Foley twice more in Savannah Breeze and Blue Christmas, Andrews continues to craft her winning brand of witty, Southern-fried fiction -- much to the delight of her many fans.
As Kathy Hogan Trocheck, Andrews's mysteries have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Awards.
When she isn't writing, Mary Kay Andrews lectures and teaches at writing workshops.
A few fun outtakes from our interview with Andrews:
"When I finish writing a book, I always celebrate with my favorite junk foods: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Wink grapefruit soda."
"I have no sense of direction and am incapable of reading a map."
"I'm a charter member of the Salty Dog chapter of the Andy Griffith Show Re-run Watchers club."
"I love afternoon naps, junking, reading, cooking with my husband, anything with avocados, English Setters, old movies, anything blue and white. I hate shopping for clothes, cigarette smoke, math, magic, mimes, scary movies, and Star Trek re-runs."
The rapping at the front door of the carriage house was unmistakable. Her. I could see Caroline DeSantos's slender profile through the frosted glass inset of the front door. She had started by ringing the bell, once, twice, three times, then she began rattling the doorknob with one hand and banging at the brass knocker with the other.
"Eloise? Open up. I mean it. That beast of yours did it again. I'm calling the dogcatcher right now. You hear me? I've got my cell phone. I'm punching in the number. I know you hear me, Eloise."
She did indeed have something that looked like a phone in her hand.
Jethro heard Caroline too. He raised his dark muzzle, which has endearing little spots like reverse freckles, his ears pricked up, and, recognizing the voice of the enemy, he slunk under the pine table in the living room.
I knelt down and scratched his chin in sympathy. "Did you, Jethro? Did you really pee on the camellias again?"
Jethro hung his head. He's just a stray, but he almost never lies to me, which is more than I can say for any other male I've ever been involved with.
I patted his head as a reward for his honesty. "Good dog. Help yourself. Pee on everything over there. Poop on the doorstep and I'll buy you the biggest ham bone in Savannah."
The banging and door rattling continued. "Eloise. I know you're home. I saw your truck parked on the street. I've called Tal. He's calling his lawyer."
"Tattletale," I muttered, putting aside the box of junk I'd been sorting.
"Bitch," I muttered.
Jethro barked his approval. I turned around and saw his tail wagging in agreement.
"Slut." More wagging. We were both gathering our resolve for the coming barrage. Jethro crawled out from under the table and sat on his haunches, directly behind me. His warm breath on my ankles felt oddly reassuring.
I threw the front door open. "Sic her, Jethro," I said loudly. "Bite the bad lady."
Caroline took half a step backward. "I heard that," she screeched. "If that mutt puts a paw in my garden again, I'm going to..."
"What?" I demanded. "You're going to what? Poison him? Shoot him? Run him over in that sports car of yours? You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you, Caroline? Running over a poor defenseless dog."
I put my hands on my hips and did a good imitation of staring her down. It wasn't physically possible, of course. Caroline DeSantos stands a good four inches taller than I do, and that's without the four-inch spike heels she considers her fashion trademark.
She flushed. "I'm warning you. That's all. For the last time. There's a leash law in this town, as you well know. If you really loved that mutt of yours, you wouldn't let him run around loose all the time."
She really was quite lovely, Caroline. Even in Savannah's ungodly summer heat, she was as crisp and fragrant as a just-plucked gardenia. Her glossy dark hair was pulled off her neck in a chignon, and her olive skin was flawless. She wore lime green linen capri slacks and a matching linen scoop-neck blouse that showed only a tasteful hint of décolletage. I could have gone on living a long time without seeing her that way, that day.
"Oh," I said. "Jethro is running around. Is that what's bothering you about my poor little puppy? But you're an expert at running around, aren't you, Caroline? I believe you and my husband were running around on me for at least six months before I finally wised up and kicked him out."
I'd kicked Tal out, but he hadn't gone far. The judge in our divorce case was an old family friend of Tal's daddy, Big Tal. He'd given our 1858 townhouse to Tal in the property settlement, and only after my lawyer raised the god-awfullest ruckus you ever heard, had he tossed me a bone -- basically -- awarding me the slim two-story carriage house right behind the big house.
Tal installed Caroline in the big house the minute the paperwork was completed, and we've had a running back-fence spite match ever since.
My lawyer, who also happens to be my uncle James, talked himself blue in the face trying to persuade me to sell out and move, but he knows better than to try to make a Foley change her mind. On Charlton Street I'd make my stand -- to live and die in Dixie. Move? Me? No sirreebob.
Caroline flicked a strand of hair out of her face. She looked me up and down and gave me a supercilious smile.
It was Thursday. I'd been up at dawn cruising the still-darkened lanes of Savannah, trying to beat the trashmen to the spoils of the town's leading lights. I looked like hell. My junking uniform, black leggings and a blue denim work shirt, was caked in grime from the Dumpsters I'd been digging through. My short red hair was festooned with cobwebs, my nails were broken, and peeling paint flakes clung to the back of my knuckles.
The day's pickings had been unusually slim. The two huge boxes of old books I'd pounced on behind an Italianate brownstone on Barnard Street had yielded up mostly mildewed, totally worthless Methodist hymnbooks from the 1930s. A carton of pretty Occupied Japan dishes rescued from a pile of junk at a house on Washington Avenue hadn't turned up a single...
Savannah Blues. Copyright © by Mary Kay Andrews. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.The rapping at the front door of the carriage house was unmistakable. Her. I could see Caroline DeSantos's slender profile through the frosted glass inset of the front door. She had started by ringing the bell, once, twice, three times, then she began rattling the doorknob with one hand and banging at the brass knocker with the other.
"Eloise? Open up. I mean it. That beast of yours did it again. I'm calling the dogcatcher right now. You hear me? I've got my cell phone. I'm punching in the number. I know you hear me, Eloise."
She did indeed have something that looked like a phone in her hand.
Jethro heard Caroline too. He raised his dark muzzle, which has endearing little spots like reverse freckles, his ears pricked up, and, recognizing the voice of the enemy, he slunk under the pine table in the living room.
I knelt down and scratched his chin in sympathy. "Did you, Jethro? Did you really pee on the camellias again?"
Jethro hung his head. He's just a stray, but he almost never lies to me, which is more than I can say for any other male I've ever been involved with.
I patted his head as a reward for his honesty. "Good dog. Help yourself. Pee on everything over there. Poop on the doorstep and I'll buy you the biggest ham bone in Savannah."
The banging and door rattling continued. "Eloise. I know you're home. I saw your truck parked on the street. I've called Tal. He's calling his lawyer."
"Tattletale," I muttered, putting aside the box of junk I'd been sorting.
I padded toward the front door of the carriage house. The worn pine floorboards felt cool against the soles of my bare feet. Caroline was banging so hard on the door I was afraid she'd break the etched glass panel.
"Bitch," I muttered.
Jethro barked his approval. I turned around and saw his tail wagging in agreement.
"Slut." More wagging. We were both gathering our resolve for the coming barrage. Jethro crawled out from under the table and sat on his haunches, directly behind me. His warm breath on my ankles felt oddly reassuring.
I threw the front door open. "Sic her, Jethro," I said loudly. "Bite the bad lady."
Caroline took half a step backward. "I heard that," she screeched. "If that mutt puts a paw in my garden again, I'm going to..."
"What?" I demanded. "You're going to what? Poison him? Shoot him? Run him over in that sports car of yours? You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you, Caroline? Running over a poor defenseless dog."
I put my hands on my hips and did a good imitation of staring her down. It wasn't physically possible, of course. Caroline DeSantos stands a good four inches taller than I do, and that's without the four-inch spike heels she considers her fashion trademark.
She flushed. "I'm warning you. That's all. For the last time. There's a leash law in this town, as you well know. If you really loved that mutt of yours, you wouldn't let him run around loose all the time."
She really was quite lovely, Caroline. Even in Savannah's ungodly summer heat, she was as crisp and fragrant as a just-plucked gardenia. Her glossy dark hair was pulled off her neck in a chignon, and her olive skin was flawless. She wore lime green linen capri slacks and a matching linen scoop-neck blouse that showed only a tasteful hint of décolletage. I could have gone on living a long time without seeing her that way, that day.
"Oh," I said. "Jethro is running around. Is that what's bothering you about my poor little puppy? But you're an expert at running around, aren't you, Caroline? I believe you and my husband were running around on me for at least six months before I finally wised up and kicked him out."
I'd kicked Tal out, but he hadn't gone far. The judge in our divorce case was an old family friend of Tal's daddy, Big Tal. He'd given our 1858 townhouse to Tal in the property settlement, and only after my lawyer raised the god-awfullest ruckus you ever heard, had he tossed me a bone -- basically -- awarding me the slim two-story carriage house right behind the big house.
Tal installed Caroline in the big house the minute the paperwork was completed, and we've had a running back-fence spite match ever since.
My lawyer, who also happens to be my uncle James, talked himself blue in the face trying to persuade me to sell out and move, but he knows better than to try to make a Foley change her mind. On Charlton Street I'd make my stand -- to live and die in Dixie. Move? Me? No sirreebob.
Caroline flicked a strand of hair out of her face. She looked me up and down and gave me a supercilious smile.
It was Thursday. I'd been up at dawn cruising the still-darkened lanes of Savannah, trying to beat the trashmen to the spoils of the town's leading lights. I looked like hell. My junking uniform, black leggings and a blue denim work shirt, was caked in grime from the Dumpsters I'd been digging through. My short red hair was festooned with cobwebs, my nails were broken, and peeling paint flakes clung to the back of my knuckles.
The day's pickings had been unusually slim. The two huge boxes of old books I'd pounced on behind an Italianate brownstone on Barnard Street had yielded up mostly mildewed, totally worthless Methodist hymnbooks from the 1930s. A carton of pretty Occupied Japan dishes rescued from a pile of junk at a house on Washington Avenue hadn't turned up a single...
Savannah Blues. Copyright © by Mary Kay Andrews. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.Anonymous
Posted May 9, 2010
I happen to love Savannah and especially liked reading about it as my first "summer" novel...light but good plot twists and interesting characters that I am sure I have passed while walking the squares of Savannah. This is the first book of Mary Kay Andrews that I have read. Looking forward to reading the rest. Also...I learned that she also writes under the name of Kathy Hogan Trocheck and The Callahan Garrity Mystery Series...sounds fun, too!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 3, 2013
I absolutely love Mary Kay Andrews' books. Every story is unique and her character development is superb. Highly recommended.
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Posted April 17, 2013
Oh how I love this book. I love Savannah's Historic District and this book takes me back there. The mystery is fun. Just a great read!
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Posted March 25, 2013
A fun book to read, I love the quirky characters
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Posted November 18, 2012
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Doriecurl
Posted September 14, 2012
I really enjoyed this story. The twist and turns make you want to get to the end as quickly as possible. I actual reaad the sequel first, Savannah Breeze. which was awesome in itself. This story sets the tone and makes you see why two books had to be written to tell the story of the characters and how they move through each others lives. A must read.
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Posted July 21, 2012
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 1, 2012
After visiting Savannah and enjoying the city so much, I have read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a good summer time read!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Cute book, nothing spectacular. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a page-turner. I'd recommend this as a good book to take on a vacation when you're looking for a light read.
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Posted April 9, 2012
Very fun read, quick also. Has some twists and turns which are fun. Good beach book.
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Posted March 11, 2012
I really enjoy any story in a Southern Setting. I like that it is a steamy setting.
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Posted January 25, 2012
This book is like a great “chick flick”. It delivered no deep message or lesson, but I found it hard to put down and finished it happy, hating to have it end. I “discovered” it while checking out another book by the same author, and since it was rated slightly higher decided that it was the one I would read. I will definitely read more from this author. There is a lot to be said for pure entertainment!
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Posted January 5, 2012
A few serious issues glossed over with humor. Didn't care for most of these characters, but the story was engaging at times.
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Posted January 3, 2012
Great read!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.surfinroxygirl
Posted August 15, 2011
Such a fun book to read! Love Weezie
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.cbteach
Posted July 6, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are quirky characters to keep you entertained and to hold your interest. Chapters are short so it is a quick read. I really enjoyed learning about Savannah and southern livin'. I felt like I knew the characters first hand and feel like I have been to Savannah and back.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I had read another book by this author and didn't care for it, but this one was entertaining. You could see the outcome miles away, but was still worth the read. Well developed interesting characters, fantastic setting and descriptions. I liked it, well worth the read!
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Posted February 6, 2011
Loved this book and all of its characters and humor. I found myself getting all excited for her in search of her estate sale finds! I loved that each chapter seemed to deal with something different, exciting, and interesting. Who could not enjoy this book?!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BossLadyGA
Posted January 30, 2011
Savannah Blues is an easy read. It holds the reader's interest from chapter to chapter and twists a tale that engages the reader.
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Posted May 28, 2010
This is a good book (not the absolute best) but a good quick read. I have read better but also have read worse. This is the story of Eloise (nicknamed Weezie) is an antiques hunter/picker. Divorcing her husband ,Tal, she lives in the backyard carriage house. She ends up finding herself in the middle of a murder. This is a cute and entertaining story. You will enjoy it- it is a quick read and a good book for the summer by the pool. Try it out, you will enjoy the book.
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Overview
Landing a catch like Talmadge Evans III got Eloise "Weezie" Foley a jewel of a town house in Savannah's historic district. Divorcing Tal got her exiled to the backyard carriage house, where she has launched a spite-fest with Tal's new fiancée, the elegant Caroline DeSantos.
An antiques picker, Weezie combs Savannah's steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures when she's not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. But an unauthorized sneak preview at a ...