Kathleen Turner Book:

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Calamity Jayne (Tressa Jayne Turner Mysteries, Book 1) Reviews:
FUN!
2008-10-04 - While I agree that at times I was sometimes jarred by the similarities to Stephanie Plum, I had a lot of fun reading this book. (Plus, it was a relief while I wait for the next Plum novel!) One thing that I really enjoyed about Calamity was all of the references to things that actually happened in the real world in my lifetime. (80's / 90's) I felt like I could relate and it brought me some fun text to self experiences! I always like books better when there is a part of me that can connect with the character in the book.

Rick is the big strong type that is constantly there when she falls into a mess! Loved him! Wish there was more "relationship" with them. I mean even Stephanie doesn't hold out forever with Joe.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. In fact, I already have! :-) Enjoy a fun, light read.


Fun book, drags a bit at first
2008-06-29 - I almost didn't make it past page 50. The opening is slow. Too much time is spent in C.J.'s head going over unimportant details. And I found Tressa's 'voice' kind of annoying rather than funny. Many of the jokes fell flat for me. Also her name isn't Calamity Jane, it's Tressa. That threw me the entire book. I kept getting confused as both names are used interchangeably in dialogue.

This is also true with other characters, and when the killer is finally revealed, I had no idea who he was because there were so many different names floating around.

Once the plot picked up I got into the book and enjoyed it. It was a fun, flirty read. I enjoyed the banter with Rick, and loved Manny, Joe, and Hannah. To me this books comes off as something between the Sookie Stackhouse vampire novels (not vampires thought) and Stephanie Plum. Now that I think about it, there area a lot of similarities to Stephanie Plum.

Best of all, this is a romance novel with sexual tension but without pages and pages of descriptive sex. Yeah! I don't see those very often any more.

I'd recommend Calamity Jane as a summer beach read.

Enough already!
2006-05-23 - The best thing about this book is that it does have funny moments and the plot is a good idea. HOWEVER, oh my gawd! The heroine's stupidity (supposed to be charming), got VERY old and went on way too long. Not funny. I got bored with all the Lucille-Ball-badly-done antics, gave up about halfway through and skipped to the end, something i've only done one other time in my life. I don't think i missed a thing by skipping half the book.

A light-hearted fun read
2006-03-19 - Tressa Jayne Turner just cannot get a break. Known as an accident waiting to happen, she's had difficulty holding down a job and getting any kind of respect. She blames her brother's best friend, "Ranger" Rick Townsend for her sorry reputation, as he bears witness to many of these unfortunate incidents. All Tressa wants is for someone, even just her family, to believe in her for a change instead of running for cover.

When she comes across a dead body of a prominent town citizen, Tressa knows this is more serious than any other situation she's ever been in. But the local police don't give her explanation much credit, so it's up to her to solve a murder in a small town. And maybe, with the help of the bane of her existence, Ranger Rick, she might actually succeed. The dead bodies start piling up, and before long Tressa is up to her eyeballs in guns, tattooed hitmen, geriatric partners-in-crime, and the irritating yet irresistible ranger who gives her libido a jolt whenever he's near. The problem is that her life is in danger, so who can she trust?

I really enjoyed this book, except for one thing: every once in awhile I'd swear I was in the middle of a Stephanie Plum book. The details were too close in similarity for me to ignore, and I would be unpleasantly jarred out of the plot during one of those moments, confused as to which book I was actually reading. I'm going to give the author the benefit of the doubt and believe she has never read the Evanovich series, and therefore had no clue that some of the phrases, gestures, and character descriptions fit almost to an exact "T". I look forward to book 2 in the series and hope the similarities aren't as glaringly obvious. Kathleen Bacus has a way with words and I enjoyed her writing immensely.

LOVED IT!
2006-03-17 - If you are a Janet Evanovich fan, you will love this book. Calamity Jayne is a lot like Evanovich's first couple of books in the Plum series in that it can move a little slow, but the characters, humor, and plot are there! I have no doubt that every book Kathleen Bacus writes in this series will get better and better! I can't wait for her new book this summer!