From living the high life to the rigours of touring, Shirley weaves a fascinating mosaic of life around Elvis invoking the nuances of both people and events with both depth and color.  Her book is a positive affirmation of her experience with Joe and Elvis and it will appeal to a broad range of hardcore and casual fans.

I relished reading about Elvis’ “Monopoly Tour” (surely the Colonel wasn’t that clever), Elvis fooling around with words to songs when he became bored, why shopping with Elvis was better than shopping at Christmas, “backgammon” visits to Hugh Hefner’s private Club.....PIPS and the somewhat strange and ironic time when Elvis, Vernon and the Colonel were all dating women with the surname surname “Miller”, none of the women being related to each other. 

When reading Memphis Mafia Princess I was impressed by Shirley’s perceptive observations of not only Elvis, but others in his inner circle.  Her comments on Elvis’ relationship with the Colonel are cogent as are her insightful reflections on issues such as the failure of Elvis’ marriage to Priscilla and Linda Thompson’s reaction to Elvis dating Sheila Ryan.

Giving balance to the narrative, Shirley doesn’t avoid recounting unpleasant aspects of her experience with Elvis at Graceland and on tour.  There are moments in the book that are powerful, including one that some fans may find confronting. 

Shirley's description of the day members of the Memphis Mafia (MM) bullied and interrogated her (incredibly, replete with audio-recording devices) adds important resonance, to what was at the time, a building tide of negative sentiment by Elvis and Vernon against several MM members (which eventually resulted in the well known Bodyguard sackings in 1976).  Shirley’s almost harrowing account of that incident will invoke strong feelings for many readers. 

In considering this incident within the broader canvas of Memphis Mafia Princess I found it compelling to contemplate the respective roles and conduct of men and women in Elvis' life. For some reason it struck me that the oppressive male chauvenism exhibited by some of the Memphis Mafia, when contrasted with the feminine wiles of the younger, sometimes more wordly and clever "princesses", symbolises the eternal, deeper struggle of smoothly facilitating harmony and change in life, relationships and society.

In what must have been a difficult thing to do, Shirley also reveals why Lake Tahoe holds ‘bittersweet memories’ for her.

Shirley and Joe...... ......in the '70's today.....

With Ginger Alden’s memoir also now on bookstands, readers will find it interesting what Shirley has to say about her in the intriguingly titled chapter, Gingersnaps.

As an author, Shirley has a friendly, easy to follow writing style, with a narrative that is well structured and free flowing.  Shirley is one of the rare breed of author's who effortlessly engage the reader making them want to read and learn more.

The book layout is crisp and reader friendly.  The 26 chapter titles are neat and evocative, also including More Than a Glass Slipper, Snow Angels and God Save The King. A substantial, predominately full color section filled with many rare and visually pleasing photos nicely complements the narrative.