Thursday, June 13, 2013

Book Review - Calamity Jayne - KC Bacus

Calamity Jayne
Title:  Calamity Jayne

Author:   Kathleen Bacus

Review:  If you are looking for a fun pool read this is your series.  The Calamity Jayne series about Tressa Jayne Turner who has taken on the dumb blonde role with pride but as the years have passed Tressa would like people to see her smart and capable.  However no matter how hard she tries to gain respect she has someone constantly reminding her everything she touches turns into a calamity.  Rick Townsend aka Ranger Rick her brothers best friend from childhood and the guy who decided to nickname her Calamity. From childhood though high school and now as grown adults Rick never lets Tressa live down the title of Calamity Jane and he takes great pride teasing Tressa at every opportunity.   Rick tries to protect Tressa from the different murders that seem to fall into her lap but Tressa doesn't want someone to protect her she wants someone to respect her and see her as a smart and capable woman.

The first book " Calamity Jayne " will pull you into a mystery of a missing dead body and why would someone leave it in the trunk of Tressa car.  The twist and turns will keep you reading until you find out the murder or murders at the very end of the book.  The author Kathleen Bacus has created a group of very loveable characters from Rick's Grandfather Joe who thinks of himself as the Green Hornet and tags along with Tressa to help her solve the murders that come across her path.  Joe and Tressa also have a love of a good steak and sweet breads that are brought to him by his next door neighbor lady friend and help create a fun bond between Tressa and Joe.  Tressa Grandmother who is a spit fire once loved Joe and though out the books they rekindle the fire they once had. 

Kathleen Bacus writes a good mystery that is light reading but at the same time she keeps you guessing to the end.  The romance goes from kissing to heavy petting but never a sex scene which I am personally grateful.  I enjoy the author leaving room for the reader’s imagination.  Countless times though this series of books I would find myself laughing so hard I would have my kids looking at me funny or my husband asking me what was so funny.

The author creates a sexual tension between Tressa and Rick that is hard not to fall in love with and root for all the way to the last book in the series Anchors Aweigh.  Tressa wants to fall in love but when she does she wants it to be forever and she isn't sure Rick is that kind of guy.
The six books Calamity Jane series are worth a day in the sun and I highly recommended them if you love fashion, mysteries and a little bit of romance.


I found these though kindle completely by accident and if you find this book series as funny as I did I would highly recommend buying the 6 books for 10$, on Amazon Kindle.

Thanks to Heidi for this review.

Publisher: Published January 3rd 2006 by Leisure Books
ISBN: 9780505526656
Copyright: 2006
Pages:  326
Quick Review: 5 out of 5 stars  
Why I Read It:   Looked interesting.
Where I Obtained the Book:  Purchased from Kindle

Synopsis: Tressa Jayne Turner has had it up to here with the never-ending string of dumb-blonde jokes and her longtime nickname. Crowned "Calamity Jayne" by Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer Rick Townsend, Tressa's out to gain a little hometown respect --or die trying. Unfortunately for Tressa, that may be the case. She's just been handed the perfect opportunity to get "Ranger Rick," the doubting Don Juan of the DNR, and a skeptical citizenry to finally take her seriously. How? By solving a murder no one else believes happened...No one, that is, except the killer.

Yup, Calamity Jayne is in it up to her hot pink snakeskin cowgirl boots and matching rhinestone belt. Tressa would tell you her momma never raised no dummies, but the jury's still out on that one.
Author Biography: Kathy’s unconventional path to publication can certainly be described as the “road less traveled.” A pioneer for women in law enforcement, she was one of the first female state troopers in Iowa, and she learned two valuable lessons that have served her well in her pursuit of a professional writing career: never give up and never stop laughing.

Kathy began writing when she was homebound with four children under the age of three, including a set of triplets. Kathy says, “Writing was my way of getting away from it all–without ever leaving the house!”

A former consumer fraud investigator, Kathy is the award-winning author of the Calamity Jayne Mystery series. She’s been a Romantic Times American Title finalist, a Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in the prestigious Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence contest, among other writing accolades.

An avid horse lover, Kathy, ever the optimist, has kept her saddles and tack just in case she wins the lottery and can afford to have horses again. Until then, she’ll have to content herself with writing about horses and whodunits, cockeyed cowgirls (and the rangers who love them) and crimes.


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