The Best Detectives in Birmingham

These two sisters are probably the last people you would ever think of being involved with murderers. A few weeks ago, I read the book Murder Gets A Life by Anne George and loved it. The author was an English teacher in Birmingham and decided to write a book series about two sisters who live in Birmingham. They always get mixed up in different mysterious situations where someone is murdered. They also learn to appreciate life more as the book goes on. The book also is fun to read because these sisters have the best personalities.

One of the best things about this book is that because they live in Birmingham, I recognize all of the places they go. It’s during August and when they talk about the intense heat I completely know that they’re not exaggerating. One of the sisters even lives near Vulcan. My favorite character is the older sister, Mary Alice. She is the exact opposite of her sister. Mary Alice is over 200 pounds and about 6ft tall and her sister is about 5’3 and 115 pounds. Mary Alice is my favorite because she doesn’t take anything seriously and is so care free even when she is involved in a murder investigation. I also like the other sister, and the narrator, Patricia Anne. She always has something clever to say about her sister. In this book, Mary Alice’s son, Ray, has just married a woman named Sunshine who they’ve never met, so they’re suspicious early on. Then, when they go to the girl’s house, with Sunshine’s grandmother MeeMaw, they find a dead man in the middle of the living room and Sunshine has disappeared. Another great item about this book is you never guess the ending.

When I read a book, I like it when the author makes you laugh and the author did an excellent job with that here. That’s one of the reasons why Mary Alice is my favorite character because of her personality. When the search party went out in the woods looking for a possibly dead Sunshine, Mary Alice showed up in a blue silk jumpsuit and rhinestone-studded boots. Then when they went out in the woods looking for Sunshine, Mary Alice stopped and took out her phone and said, “Gotta check my voicemail.” I think another good thing about this book is that it’s not completely serious like Agatha Christie books. I do like Agatha Christie’s stories, but I enjoy the humor in this book. I also like how the author kept adding in mysterious events that made you stop and question what you had predicted was going to happen.

This book was an entertaining read, but it also kept me guessing. I’m not sure if I would recommend this to all mystery readers because this book isn’t as serious and suspenseful as a lot of mysteries. This series is more fun but still has that hint of mystery and suspense. I do think this book is more for girls because the sisters are always going shopping and gossiping about neighbors and friends. I am excited to read more of Anne George’s books.