Jessie and Jesus; And, Cousin Claire

Three black women (two viragoes and a doe-eyed wanderer) wreak havoc on the African American citizens of Appalachee, Ga., in this rollicking two-part novel by the author of the saucy Baby Sweet's. Shrewd businesswoman Jessie Mitchell seduces and discards her paramours without a care until the girlfriend--Jesus by name--of one conquest inserts herself in Jessie's life. Jesus, baby in tow, roams Jessie's dairy farm, exacts payment for the loss of her lover and introduces the word ``conscience'' into Jessie's vocabulary. Cousin Claire, a voluptuous nurse from across the tracks, doesn't have time for moral fiber. Her get-rich scheme via an elderly widower's bed hits a snag when the old man dies and the will is read. Although resourceful Claire then manages to make her deceased lover's son very happy, she soon learns that the competition is just as slick as she is. Replete with racy trysts, colorful characters and cheeky humor, Andrews's book entertains and educates on the follies of human nature. (Oct.)