MURDER GETS A LIFE

This fifth Southern Sisters mystery is a lively romp through the August heat of Alabama. There's much more interest in cooking and dressing than murder, but that's okay because Mary Alice Crane and Patricia Anne Hallowell are a delightful nutty duo who happen upon trouble in between cooling off with sips of iced water. No one seems particularly upset by the "Indian" pinned to the linoleum by Meemaw Turkett's best hog-butchering knife or by the partial disappearance of Sunshine, Ray Crane's brand new Barbie doll of a bride. Much more important are what to wear, where to eat, and the comradery of these two 60-something sisters. Ruth Ann Phimister rollicks, bringing to life sisters, Turketts, and all sundry in the debilitating heat. This could be called an incidental murder mystery. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]