CALAMITY JANE RIDES AGAIN

Author: Kathleen Bacus ISBN: 0505526697 7/2006 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: DORCHESTER

Two months ago, 23-year-old Tressa Jayne Turner knew just where she stood with “Ranger Rick” Townsend. Sure, her older brother's friend is what you'd call hott with two t’s, but he’s also responsible for her nickname “Calamity," and their sparring since high school makes the Hatfields and McCoys look like kissing cousins. And ever since they solved that murder last summer—ever since Rick saved her cookies, he’s acted as if he has a god-given right to sample them. Of course, Tressa has bigger frenches to fry. The Iowa State Fair is about to start; and as well as being her favorite time of the year—donuts, funnel cakes, cotton candy, turkey legs!—it's also her uncle Frank’s busiest. His ice cream stand is in a prime location, and he's poised to scoop the competition. So when a soft-serve saboteur appears at the same time her cousin goes missing, it’s another fine sticky mess—worse than a King Kone with a hole. It’s time for Tressa to don her hot pink cowboy boots and solve the mystery. It'll be a heckuva wild ride. But will a certain ranger ride shotgun? .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Tressa Jayne Turner is always finding herself in predicaments. Whether it is being a big time crime aficionado or simply helping to run her uncle's ice cream stands at the state fair, she can always count on some little bit of trouble finding her. She is an absolute blast and has a great attitude for someone with her kind of luck. I found myself loving Tressa like I would a goofy life-of-the-party kind of cousin.

Ranger Rick is Tressa's boy toy... well, her almost boy toy. All Tressa knows is that he is one hot hunk that can solve a crime like the best of them, and Lord knows she brings plenty of them to the table. He is reliable and goofy in his own right and, at times, can get on Tressa's last nerve—and vice versa. Their chemistry is golden and had me hooting out loud for the sheer pleasure of this book.

CALAMITY JANE RIDES AGAIN is fun, sassy and WAY over the top, and I had a blast while reading it.

Kristal Gorman