Reviewer: Connie Payne
Title: Calamity Jayne Heads West - 5th Tressa Jayne Turner Mystery
Author: Kathleen Bacus
Publisher: Dorchester
ISBN: 0505527332
Release Date: October 2007
Genre/Sub-genre: Mystery Romance
Year/Setting: Present Day - Iowa/Arizona
Overall rating: 4.25
Sexual Content Rating: None (innuendo/wishful thinking/attempts)
Language (Profanity) Content Rating: Mild
Violent Content Rating: Minimal/Moderate
Kathleen's Website: www.kathybacus.com
Anyone who has read Tressa’s adventures knows anything can happen to her. From Gram wandering around the house naked, to a certain Ranger Rick who sends her heart pitter pattering, even though he’s a jerk sometimes, Tressa’s life is certainly never dull. Especially as trouble seems to drop in her lap without her even trying. Even when she’s hundreds of miles away from home.
Tressa (Calamity) Jayne Turner, her family and family-to-be (including one hot Ranger Rick!) are headed to Arizona for her Gram’s wedding (not without some mishaps along the way, either--Surprise!).
Once there, one of her missions is to buy her Gram and Joe a special wedding present, on a skimpy, low to no cost budget, of course. And the perfect gift would be a fertility statue (Gram collects them). Of course the one she wanted to purchase in Sedona was waaaaay out of her price range, but an odd (ok, ugly), but very well endowed statue caught her eye at a portable roadside souvenir stand. Perfect! Gram will love "Kookamunga"!
After a little haggling and a bobble head thrown in the deal (whoo-hoo!) it’s time to let the festivities begin! NOT! Trouble is biting Tressa on the butt and she doesn’t even know it. Yet. A hunk-a-licious makes off with a very important item of Tressa’s, when she attempts to spy on Ranger Rick and his possible date chaos breaks out, someone breaks in, and Gram needs a new wedding gown, one that will show some cleavage, and…(you get the idea). It all ties in with "Kooky" somehow.
Rick scoffs at Tressa’s theories that someone would actually want the eye-sore, which hurts her more than a little bit. So she teams up with her not so enthusiastic cousin, Sophie (the only one who believes her theory), who goes along for the ride somewhat reluctantly. Tressa’s sister, Taylor, demands to know what’s going on and gets in on the action. Ranger Rick’s smart aleck nephew, Nick, worms his way in on the chase via blackmail. This scavenger hunt is a race against time and the bad guys. Hopefully they’ll all live to tell the story…
I really like how with each passing Calamity book Tressa comes to see herself as more than just a "calamity". With each dead body, each bit of danger, she learns more about herself. If only Rick, her family and friends saw beneath the trouble she attracts, the fallout that seems to point to her with a two-story neon sign.
Tressa’s cohorts, her family and secondary characters make a great ensemble to Tressa’s lead. Beneath the skepticism and the bickering you know they’ve got each other’s backs. I’m pretty sure of it, anyway.
Calamity Jayne Heads West is highly entertaining! The action and intrigue is wrapped around humor with clues and simmering sexual tension thrown in the midst of it all.
Here’s hoping this is nowhere near the end of the Tressa Jayne series!
Connie
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