This is a fun book. It's about two sixtyish southern sisters, who find bodies and get involved in the solution of the murders. It would be a good beach read or for one of those gloomy days when you just want to curl up on the sofa and read. ( )

Last of the Southern Sisters mysteries, I decided to just finish this series off and be done with it, though I am definitely sorry to see it end! This time Mary Alice and Patricia Anne get tangled up with Elvis impersonators at a benefit show to raise money for the repairs and refinishing of Vulcan, the big iron bare-assed statue that usually watches over the city. Mary Alice’s fiancee’s son and son-in-law are both Elvis impersonators and get front row tickets for the sisters for the show. But when one of the contestants ends up dead of stab wounds, you just know the girls are going to be in the thick of things again, especially a few days later when the bloody switchblade ends up in Patricia Anne’s purse! I really enjoyed this last installment in the series, and though things were settled quite nicely, it saddens me to know that I will have to use my own imagination to concoct the further lives of Mouse, Sister and their families. ( )

This is it, the last of the Southern Sisters series. Bittersweet all the
way through, knowing that there will be no more after this one. *sigh*

The famous statue of Vulcan, that has stood on the side of a mountain
overlooking Birmingham for decades, is in dire need of restoration and has
been taken down. Money must be raised to repair his cracks and blemishes,
so Sister and Mouse attend the gala benefit variety show program eagerly.
Mary Alice is about to marry husband number four (and, no, I'm not going to
tell you who he is! LOL), and her soon to be step-son-in-law is appearing
in the Elvis extravaganza. The stage is filled with a dozen Elvis
impersonators, each more outrageous than the one next to him and the crowd
goes wild. Mary Alice and Patricia Anne have seats in front row center and
have the best seats in the house to witness one of the "Elvi" go tumbling
head first into the orchestra pit right in front of them. Turns out he
didn't just trip and fall, but was stabbed in the back. A few days later,
the murder weapon turns up in Patricia Anne's handbag and when she
accidentally finds it while shopping at the Big, Bold and Beautiful shop
with Sister, she keels over in a dead faint. Without some fancy lawyering,
she's gonna end up in the pokey with a murder rap, sure as shooting. And
both the sisters end up being held hostage by the lunatic murderer before
the book is over. What else did I expect? LOL

This book was great and I loved every page. Wanted to read it slowly
because I knew it was literally "all she wrote." Anne George passed away
and took Mouse and Sister with her in early 2001. This book was published
in August. 2001, and the last chapter has obviously been re-written to try
to tie up the loose ends in the backstory and send the Southern Sisters into
immortality with a satisfying ending. It was just a tad contrived, but
there was one line in that last chapter that brought sad tears to my eyes,
even while it brought a smile to my lips. Yep, the series is at an end, but
with enough of a hook at the end to leave the reader imagining future
escapades for our favorite retired school teacher and her flamboyant older
sister.

Read it and laugh, read it and weep. It's a good 'un. 5+ Long live Mouse
and Sister! ( )

I love Anne George's "Southern Sisters" mystery novels, of which *Elvis* is the last in the series. I recently revisited Sister (Mary Alice) and Mouse (Patricia Anne, the narrator of these fine books) by listening to all the unabridged audio books. "Bittersweet" has probably been overused in the reviews of this book, but that's because it's apt.

For the last few days I've been wondering whether Patricia Anne kept Haley's cat Muffin after Haley and Philip returned from Warsaw, what color eyes and hair Patricia Anne's granddaughter Joanna had and how her birth went, how the newlywed Stuckeys fared, and when Fred would finally retire from his metal fabricating business. Among many other things about all the wonderful characters that Anne George brought to us in those books. And I've been so sad because we will not ever know.

So I'm saying a fond "Hey" to my favorite sixty-something Alabama ladies. Sometimes when life gets too stressful, I mentally retreat to Patricia Anne's kitchen where a purring Muffin jumps up on the table, sweet Woofer dog curls up underfoot, the coffee and sweet rolls are always at hand, and we can look through the bay window while good conversation flows.

It's my version of those fugue states that Mouse has, when she's confronted with something horrible and mentally goes shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

How can you not love these folks? How can I not regret that we won't have any more books from Anne George? ( )