CALAMITY JAYNE

Author: Kathleen Bacus ISBN: 0505526654 1/2006 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: DORCHESTER/Love Spell

Tressa Jayne Turner has had it up to here with the never ending string of dumb-blonde jokes and her longtime nickname that's harder to get rid of than lint from a belly button. 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—and it's a matter of life and death, respect and reputation, love, happiness and the whole shebang. Tressa would tell you her momma never raised no dummies, but the jury’s still out on that one. And as she learned in her work at the Dairee Freeze: Sometimes life hands you a big, sloppy ice cream cone. You just have to know how to lick it.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

CALAMITY JAYNE continues the fine tradition of Stephanie Plum and Bubbles-type heroines in this novel that reads more like a mystery than a romance, despite the "Contemporary Romance" category on its spine. I've noticed this is a trend—books that could have been published as mysteries are showing up on the romance shelves.

The romance in this book is barely begun by the end—this isn't the type of old-school romance novel that ends in a proposal, and it could easily be the start of a continuing series if the author desired.

It is quite enjoyable, if a little cutesy at times. Tressa is a bad-luck attracting, small town, minimum wage worker-type who is always getting herself into trouble, to the extent that she is notorious locally. Her most recent exploits with various dead bodies gets her a second chance at the local newspaper, which had fired her after an embarrassing obituary error. She resolves to become a real reporter and figure out the truth behind the dead bodies and threats she's receiving. She also wants to uncover the truth about Rick Townsend, a fish and game ranger who is her brother's best friend. Is he available or not? Because she can't stop thinking about him...

Heather Hiestand