Fast and fun debut mystery thriller.
Don’t mess with the Buckhead Betties. These affluent Atlanta women aren’t afraid of anything or anyone. Except outsiders who have no idea how hard it is to maintain their images in this social cesspool. They know everything about each other’s marriages, children, and lives; any secrets they have will soon be outed. When Anderson Tupper, a single, handsome, and wealthy Little League coach, is found murdered right after their big charity bash, tongues wag and everyone in their tight circle is a suspect.
This was so entertaining as these women get down and dirty while the accusations fly. There’s a lot going on behind the closed doors of those mansions. The investigation, led by Detective Shay Claypool and her partner, Sergeant Dub Rattigan, is stonewalled and the pair is met with snubs and plenty of reasons why many of those residents would want Tupper dead. Lots of rich people cliches and designer name drops pepper the narrative, but it’s all satirical while showing that even people with tons of money have problems. Slowly but surely the truth is revealed and the climax was quite surprising with the conclusion taking a great twist.
The narrative is told in a before and after fashion with each of the main female characters taking a turn at point of view. Keeping them straight got easier after awhile with trying to remember who was married to whom and the names of the kids. I liked the writing style and the themes involving social status, race, and family. I’ll definitely look for future books by this author.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. I loved the narrator, Hallie Ricardo, who did a fantastic job voicing the female characters giving them individuality with various accents, tone, and timbre. Her performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book and I highly recommend it.
This is a standalone debut and is not part of any series.
Tags - south, Atlanta, wealthy, murder, society, family, female friendship
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