The Butcher of Beverly Hills

McAffee Twins #1

by Jennifer Colt

Who is killing the rich society widows of Beverly Hills?

Meet Kerry and Terry McAfee—identical twin sisters who have nothing in common, save their red hair and California-girl looks. Kerry’s the good girl, a straight-A student who won a scholarship to UCLA. Terry’s the bad girl, whose appetite for nose candy won her a spot in the slammer. When Terry gets out of jail, the twins decide to open their own business as private investigators—and soon they’re keeping LA safe with the help of their trusty sidekicks: a Pomeranian named Paquito and a pug named Muffy.

When wealthy socialite Lenore Richling’s twentysomething gold-digging boy toy of a husband absconds with ten thousand dollars' worth of her jewelry, she does what anyone in her position would do: she checks herself in for a plastic surgery shopping spree, then calls the McAfee twins for help. While Lenore recuperates from her face-lift in a luxury hotel, the gals hop on their hot-pink Harley-Davidson and begin investigating a bevy of suspicious characters, including Barbie, a bimbo beauty consultant with buns of steel; Daniel Hattrick, a painkiller-pushing plastic surgeon; and Hugh Binion, a silver-haired, snake-tongued Hollywood attorney. Before they know it, the twins are wading in dead husbands, purloined cash, crotchless panties, mystery pills, and a body count high enough to make even tough cookies like them a little squeamish.

With a razor-sharp wit that brilliantly brings to life LA’s most eccentric personalities, The Butcher of Beverly Hills marks the debut of two of the hottest sleuths since Stephanie Plum—and delivers a fast-paced, highly original tale that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Genres: Mystery, Chick Lit, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Fiction

358 pages, Paperback

First published November 13, 2002

About the author

Jennifer Colt is the author of the zany chick-lit crime series, featuring identical twin investigators Terry and Kerry McAfee.

Reviews

[Ladiibbug]

#1 McAfee Twins PI series

Hilarious, smart, totally enjoyable! Twenty-something twins Terry and Kerry McAfee couldn't be more different. The girls team up to open a PI business.

I like that the series features characters of all ages. The writing is sparkly, brimming with laughs and a fast moving plot.

As much fun as Stephanie Plum!

www.jennifercolt.com

[Sandy]

Book #1 of a series with Kerry and Terry McAfee - identical twin sisters who work as private investigators. They live in L.A. and agree to work for an upper class friend of their great aunt. Kerry and Terry are true opposites, but they work well together. Kerry has always been the "good sister," good girl, straight-A student, etc. Terry is the "bad girl," who used drugs and ended up in jail. During this case, they find themselves caught up in fraud, blackmail, dead husbands, stolen money, drug peddling, and a mysterious object that the owner desperately wants returned! The story moves from the upper crust keeping their plastic surgeries secret at a posh hotel to illegal immigrants infiltrating the "Nanny" crowd to get dirt on the wealthy employers. The twins find themselves working with and against the police. It will be interesting to see how this series develops.

[Katrin]

Next to our playground there is a little house with used books. I do not have many expectations regarding the books that are stacked there but this was a suprisingly fun read. I just wish the murders had not been quite that graphic.

[Singletary]

23/2019/382 Pittsfield Library

I struggled to get through this book. I put it down once but picked it up again. Tons of characters to keep straight. Sometimes it was quite funny. I think this book was written for teenagers. I don’t think I’ll be reading the others in the series.

[Deb White]

Twin private investigators. Kerry and Terry are in Beverly Hills. They drive around in a hot pick motorcycle.
Old ladies, plastic surgeon, prescription meds, people dying, bodies, mayhem!
Crazy great aunt! Funny!

[Dogsandbooks]

Very enjoyable although hate the evidently obligatory trope of Heroines Threatened Close to the Climax. Gutsy rather than stupid narrators, hope there are more in this series. DPL book

[Jessica Walters]

Wild and crazy. So, so funny.

[Eric]

Great cozy mystery series.

[Julie]

Much of the humor in this book felt forced and deliberately "wacky" to me. Still, the mystery was solid and the characters not too annoying. While that sounds lukewarm, it can be hard to find new series that don't make me want to strangle all of the characters!

[Kate]

Chick lit murder mystery starring identical twin PIs, very much in the vein of Stephanie Plum. The wacky hijinks are sometimes forced and over the top, but overall enjoyable, brainless fun with several laugh-out-loud moments.

[April Hochstrasser]

A fun romp through a private investigative firm consisting of identical twin 20 something year old women. Kind of a fun book but not the kind you would read again. They have some twists and turns in the plot and eventually come to the answer through their bungling and mistakes.

[Camille]

This was a rollicking good tale. While not laugh- out-loud funny, there was a laugh on every page. The twins, Kerry and Terry, are PI who get themselves into all kinds of trouble while trying to help their great aunt't friend. Of course, the succeed in solving the case. Lots of fun.

[Shannon]

The beginning was kind of hard to get into but towards the end is when it got funny. I may actually read the next in the series...I will let you know.

[Krystal Scruggs]

Couldn't get into it. All into my other series. Will have to revisit at a later date.

[Kristine]

Total brain candy and exactly what I needed after reading some mind draining books. This was funny and entertaining. Think Janet Evanovich with red headed twins in Beverly Hills.

[Becky]

I wasn't sure about it at first but by the time I got about halfway into it, the pace really picked up and I was hooked. Looking forward to getting my hands on the next one in the series.

[Donna]

The plot is a little too complicated making the first half average. The fun action doesn’t happen until half way through.

[Taryn]

For a book with a bright, eye-catching cover about identical twin private investigators, it was fairly entertaining.

[L Marie]

I wish I could give this a 2.5: somewhere between "liked it" and "it was ok." The book was actually very funny and well-written, just not my favorite genre.

[Lois Baron]

funny.

thought she shouldn't have dropped the hottie at the end.

[Toni]

I liked it and thought it was funny. :-)

[Laura]

It's the girl equivalent of a Harlan Coben novel, but it has one thing (er make that 2 things) that the Myron Bolitar mysteries don't have....puppies :)

I loves the scooby doo books.

[Margaret]

Fun fluff, kind of a mellower and not quite as funny Stephanie Plum if she were twins and lived in L.A. Enjoyable reading you'd do at the beach.

[Missy]

Book #27 read in 2006

This was a very entertaining book! I even laughed out loud at a few parts. I can't wait to continue reading the series.

[Jenine]

3 1/2, it was fun. The narrator is my favorite part, sassy/ditzy Californian.

[Amber Jones]

Pretty good book. I chuckled out loud at some parts. I'll continue with the series.

[Barbara]

Real bubblegum noir, with a big dose of chick lit thrown in. The novel has lot of energy and fun, even if it goes a bit over the top here and there. Quite enjoyable.

[Taryn]

Alright read, it was a surprise to find out the killer. There were some add added "dream" sequence and "heaven" sequence I didn't care for. Other then that not bad.

[Anne]

funny but a little long

[bell]

Love! Love! Love this series!!!