Book Review: Stranded

Title: Stranded

Author :Lorena McCourtney

 Stars: 3 out of 5

 Review:
This is a series of mystery novels staring Ivy Malone an LOL "little ole lady"by her own definition. There are five books with the last two having just been published in the last few months. It is available from Amazon and is available as a kindle book. Ivy is an older lady who seems to fall into solving murders totally by accident. At the beginning of book four she is on the run from a family called Braxton's who have decided that she is a threat to them because of her snooping into things that look suspicious, suspiciously like murder.
As the book opens Ivy and her young friend Abilene are traveling across country on their way to Arizona to try and hide from the Braxton's and Abilene's ex husband who is determined to get his "property" back, namely his wife. As Ivy and Abilene pull into town the motor home they are driving makes clunks, pops, and grinding sounds, then stops. Luckily there is a mechanic in town who tells Ivy he can fix the motor home, only problem is that the motor is burned out and it will have to be replaced. $$$$ signs pass in front of Ivy's eyes and she realizes that she and her young friend are going to have to find a job. While at the mechanic's she visits with a man who intrigues Her with the story of a murder of an old man in the small town of Hello, Colorado. As they wait to find out about their transportation to Arizona, a young lawyer named Kelli comes in and introduces herself. She the number one person of interest to the police for the murder.
 Ivy, not one to judge a book by its cover, talks to Kelly and hears her side of the story which does not jive with all the gossip Ivy has heard since she arrived. Kelli offers her Uncles house to Ivy and Abilene to stay while they figure out what they want to do about fixing their means of transportation. Only one problem with the house, it is the scene of the murder of the old man who just happened to be Kelli's uncle. Get the picture, and with that Ivy is on the scent and starts at it again.
 This book is fun with lots old friends from the first three books returning to help Ivy solve the murder, though not on purpose. Mac, Ivy's love interest moseys into town and sets her pacemaker all a flutter, the handsome young vet also has his eye on Abilene and so romance is in the air for young and old alike.
 Fun book, well written, not quite as witty as the first two but certainly equal to the third and lots of fun to read. A good clean books with a fun mystery and a cute side stories to add color.
 Thank you Eileen For this Review.

 Synopsis: Super sleuth Ivy Malone's inquisitiveness has gotten her into plenty of trouble, including murder, mayhem, and a place on a mini-Mafia hit list. Still on the run from the mob, Ivy ends up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest with a broken-down motor home, a young traveling companion running from a violent husband, and a stray cat.

Paperback, 318 pages Published October 1st 2006 by Fleming H. Revell Company (first published January 1st 2006)


About The Author:
 
Lorena McCourtney is a long-time resident of Southern Oregon and enjoys using Oregon settings in her books. She wrote numerous short stories for children before moving on to romances and now to mysteries, often with a bit of humor. She won the American Christian Fiction Writer's Mystery "Book of the Year" and twice won the Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence.