If only he’d taken another route to Trouble, Pennsylvania. Then he’d never have rescued a tire-iron-toting, drop-dead-gorgeous woman whose crazy aunts had stolen her shoes and keys and left her more than a little pissed off. There was no way he was ready to get involved with someone like Jennifer, let alone the decades-old murder case swirling around her nutty family!
But writer Jennifer Feeney was one provocative package. And her latest bestseller had stirred up a whole lot of trouble. Which meant that, between rescuing her again and again, Mike had fallen for her, big-time. Just the way he’d promised himself he wouldn’t. Now it looks as if her family’s past is going to catch up with both of them, and it’s time for Mike to choose—solve the case—or get the girl.
I’ve read several Leslie Kelly books and have enjoyed them immensely. Unfortunately I thought I had read the book that came first in this series. That was not the case and now I have to track down an out-of-print book. *sigh* I really hate having to do that, but this book was good enough that I want more.
Mike Taylor is a sucker for a damsel in distress. When he sees a woman walking alone on the side of the road, he has no idea that she is just about as far from a damsel in distress as you can get. As a matter of fact, Jen Feeney is the niece of the two batty old women that kidnapped his grandfather the year before. So when she talks of murdering the two old women, the instincts that have served him so well as a cop tell him that she has no intention of murdering anyone.
A successful author of two books that poke fun at men, Jen Feeney has gotten used to the way it has effected her dating life. Men just don’t understand that her two books, Why Arsenic is Better Than Divorce and I Love You, I Want You, Get Out are supposed to be humorous. So the fact that she’s wildly attracted to Mike Taylor means little when she knows what will happen when he finds out who she is. She has no idea how much she has under estimated Mike. Not only does she not send him running, but his protective instincts are aroused when he finds out that she’s been recently harassed by an unknown person.
Mike and Jen are polar opposites. Leslie Kelly really showed how opposites really do attract. Mike enjoys taking care of women. Jen would not be who she is without her independence. While she can appreciate Mike’s need to protect her, she refuses to let him coddle her. Her independence and need to take care of herself could make her seem like a feminist man-hater, but instead she comes off as a strong woman that knows exactly what she wants. Mike has to learn that he can protect her, but he can’t suffocate her w/ his need to take care of her. The author did a great job of writing the relationship between the two.
We also get a small tidbit of Jen’s books at the beginning of each chapter. Here are a few of my favorites:
Every man having a supportive little woman standing behind him. He just doesn’t realize that eventually she’s going to be holding a cast-iron skillet aimed directly at his skull.
–Why Arsenic Is Better Than Divorce by Jennifer Feeney
Or…
You ever wonder why a boy is so close to his mother? It’s because she’s the only woman in the world that will wipe his face, kiss his ass, laugh at his penis jokes, and think he’s the most handsome man on the face of the Earth. Well, until the day he gets married and his wife feels that way.
That lasts about 18 hours.
–I Love You, I Want You, Get Out by Jennifer Feeney
And…
What any cheating husband needs to realize is sometimes women really do take little oaths like “fidelity” and “forsaking all others” seriously. If he did, he might not have to learn firsthand that his wife also takes the whole “till death do us part” thing serious…by waking up with an ax in his face.
–Why Arsenic Is Better Than Divorce by Jennifer Feeney
These were highly amusing passages that I had to share w/ my husband.
I really enjoyed this book. Fans of Rachel Gibson and SEP should really enjoy the humor that Leslie Kelly brings to the pages. I really look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
4.5 out of 5.
This book is available from HQN. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I love Leslie Kelly’s books! They are so funny and witty.
I’ve really enjoyed the LK books I’ve read in the past, and this one sounds great. I’m adding it to the list.
I read the first and was utterly charmed by it. There is a another one set in the town of Trouble which is a Harlequin Blaze but I can’t remember what it’s called.