$4.99
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- 978-1-937546-02-1
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Samantha Robinson has questionable fashion sense, a dorky sense of humor, and keen observational skills. Her nosiness and passion for murder novels has her believing there’s always a mystery to be solved. Much to her frustration, her parents’ new money has made Samantha a shoe-in as a debutante, even though it’s the last thing Samantha would ever want to be. She doesn’t want to spend any more time with the catty rich girls who have made her life miserable since junior high. But just when she is going to tell her family that there’s no way she’ll be a deb, the head of the debutante world is murdered. As a debutante-elect and relative outsider, the police department’s lead investigator encourages Sam to become a part of the very society that has ostracized her for her entire life.
In her new role as a secret agent during the summer between high school and college, Sam finds that she actually grows to like parts of the society on which she’s supposed to be spying. But her investigation causes mayhem in her personal life. Will she be able to solve the murder, pull her family back together, adjust to her new position as a member of high-society, evade a killer, and get the right guy?
Elizabeth Guizzetti
November 27, 2011 - 3:31pm
The Debutante Detective by Lisa McDivitt is a book I was really looking forward to reading and I loved it. (I am a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes as well as Jessica Fletcher. Obviously thought I am not YA!)
McDivitt knows exactly how to pace a mystery along side the perfect amount of description and action. I love the 3rd person limited perspective: it gives the main character a strength in her voice while not alerting us to everything that is going on.
Sam's parents’ new money has made her a debutante. This is the last thing she ever wanted to be. She doesn’t like the cattiness. She has been an outcast with a single friend Nate throughout school and now everything is changing. But of course this is not just a coming of age story, but also a murder mystery. When the head of the debutante world is murdered and the police department’s lead investigator encourages Sam to become a part of the debutante world as a spy, she jumps right in.
Awesome. Sam is a great as a detective. She also is completely convincing as a teenager whose life is undergoing major change. In her new role as a secret agent during the summer between high school and college, Sam actually grows into the role. She finds friends in girls that formerly ostracized her. Boys that hadn’t noticed her before now are flocking around her. She and her older brother now get along pretty well.
I don’t really have anything negative to say about the book, but something did strike me as odd.
There are two deaths in the book: 1) the head of the debutant society, the second death which I don’t want to give too much away, but Samantha and her family are just like “oh well. You’re life is in danger Sam… we just are ignoring this guy.” Of course the action is ramping up so it’s not exactly time for sadness, but seriously this guy didn’t even get a funeral or if he did, Sam’s parents didn’t go or it wasn't mentioned. That really felt odd. Almost as if something was missing. However this is often a problem with the genre and not with the writing.
All in all I loved this book and completely recommend it for anyone who loves a good detective story: young adult or not. I can't wait to read more of McDivitt's writing.
Denise DeSio
December 1, 2011 - 12:09am
Get ready for a roller coaster ride. Debutante Detective is great fun. When middle class Sam(antha)'s parents experience a sudden windfall, sincere, down to earth Sam is reluctantly thrust into a new world where money, beauty, and back-stabbing are the norm. Sam's dreams of being a detective are subsumed by fancy ball gowns, spa treatments, and curtsy instructions -- until someone kills the head of the Debutante Ball and feisty little Sam is determined to find out whodunnit! Think Mean Girls meets Nancy Drew and Columbo, and throw in the teeniest touch of the Beverly Hillbillies.
For Young Adults, but fun for all ages.
kieranwils
December 29, 2011 - 1:56pm
I am a big fan of fiction/mysteries/chick lit but lately I haven't found many books worthy of the time it takes to read them, until I picked up Lisa McDivitt's Debutante Detective. Lisa's style of writing, giving enough detail when warranted but not overburdening the reader, made this a quick, fun, and exciting read.
The main character, Sam, is so lovable right from the beginning. I think we can all relate to being an "outsider" at one time or another and her quirky way about life is so fun. The mystery of the book is suspenseful and so is Sam's love-life! The reader opened us up to the possibility of a second book to continue Sam's story as she heads to the west-coast for college and I cannot wait to read the next book by McDivitt.
I have already recommended this book to my friends! Enjoy!
Sofia Essen
April 24, 2012 - 8:23pm
I might not be Debutante Detective’s target audience, but I couldn’t help falling in love with it. Samantha is such an eminently likeable character. It’s not often I find a character in a book of any genre I enjoy as thoroughly as I enjoyed Samantha.
Debutante Detective is fresh and sharp, and unexpectedly moving. It’s entertaining from the first page to the very last. Young adults, older adults – I recommend this book to adults of all ages. If you have a heart and a sense of humor, you’ll love reading this book.
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