Book ~ "Savannah Breeze" (2006) Mary Kay Andrews

From Goodreads ~ Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk loses all her worldly possessions thanks to a brief but disastrous relationship with the gorgeous Reddy, an “investment counselor” who turns out to be a con man. All that’s left is a ramshackle 1950s motor court on Tybee Island - an eccentric beach town that calls itself a drinking village with a fishing problem.

Breeze Inn is a place where the very classy BeBe wouldn’t normally be caught dead but, with no alternative, she moves into the manager’s unit, vowing to make magic out of mud. The work is grueling, especially dealing with the cantankerous caretaker, a fishing captain named Harry who’s trying to earn enough dough to get his boat out of hock. With the help of Harry and BeBe’s junking friend, Weezie, she soon has the motel spiffed up and attracting paying guests.

Then there’s a sighting of Reddy in Fort Lauderdale, and BeBe decides to go after him. She puts together a posse, and with the irrepressible Granddaddy Loudermilk snoring in the backseat of the Buick, heads south. The plan is to carry out a sting that may be just a little bit outside the law but that, with any luck at all, will retrieve BeBe’s fortune and put the dastardly Reddy in jail where he belongs. And maybe Harry, who’s looking more hunky every day, will finally get his boat back.

BeBe is a successful businesswoman, owning an upscale restaurant and some rental properties in Savannah.  She's busy enough as it is but then her grandmother gets sick and lands in the hospital, leaving Bebe's grandfather alone to take care of himself.  Bebe is stressed out and being pulled in so many directions when she meets Reddy.  He takes a lot of pressure off her by taking on some of her responsibilities.

Then Bebe discovers Reddy has stolen everything (apparently legally) from her ... she loses her house (and all it's contents including her clothes, jewelry, etc.), her rental properties, her bank account and even her grandparents' investments.  All she has left is a rundown motel outside the city, which she hadn't even bought.  With nowhere else to go, she moves into the motel.  There she meets Harry, the manager of the motel, who seems just as raggedy and worn out as the motel.  To earn a living until she figures things out, she renovates the motel as cheaply and creatively (thanks to her best friend, Weezie, an antiques picker) as possible with the eventual goal of selling it to a condo developer who wants it for the land.

Bebe is determined to find Reddy and make him pay for what he's done to her.  She wants revenge and her money and stuff back.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author (it is the second in the Weezie and BeBe Mystery Series ... I read the first one last week) and I liked it.  It works well as a stand alone and you don't have to read the first one to know what's going on (the focus is more on Bebe in this one than Weezie).  I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective in Bebe and Weezie's voice.  There are recipes included at the end of the book.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I found the characters likable ... Bebe's grandparents, especially her grandfather, are a hoot.  I found it hard believe, though, that a businesswoman as successful as Bebe would allow herself to be cleaned out as she had.  Yes, she was under enormous pressure but I doubt anyone would have been as trusting as she was with Reddy, a fella she had just randomly met.  But I let it go and went with the story.

I look forward to reading the next one in this series.