Pretty Reckless by Jodi Linton…Blog Tour Stop, Review & Bonus Guest Post

She’s dead-set on giving one bullheaded cowboy the boot.

Pretty Reckless

by: Jodi Linton

Release Date: 3/24

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Synopsis:

Welcome to Pistol Rock, Texas where everyone knows secrets last about as long as the sporadic west Texas rain showers.

Laney Briggs has long been considered reckless by the denizens of her hometown, but she’s finally turned it all around—she’s happily engaged to the local veterinarian and she’s become a Pistol Rock deputy sheriff. Everything’s fine and dandy—until a dead body turns up and her ex, Texas Ranger Gunner Wilson, decides to stick his boots into the town’s first murder case.   Of course, the troublesome cowboy’s rugged good looks and T-shirt-straining muscles are already leaving Laney knee-deep in hot water, but she’ll be damned if she lets Gunner trample all over her turf. She’s decided that, instead of conflict, she wants a contented, steady life with her vet—a life in which Gunner Wilson and his seemingly endless ability to undermine her resolve and her libido plays no part. Still, it’s hard to keep her head as forbidden sparks ignite and suspicions arise between old rivals and old flames. And when the bodies start to pile up, Laney has to ask the lethal bad boy for a hand—and a truce in exchange for his help. But after uncovering the pack of lies surrounding not only her job but her heart…  Having an ex-boyfriend as an ally might not be the best idea, but it’s certainly the most reckless, and Laney has always been pretty reckless…

 

My Review:

Pretty Reckless is the first in author Jodi Linton’s Deputy Laney Briggs Series and really sets us up for what I think will be a great collection!

Sherriff’s Deputy Laney Briggs is used to the slow and somewhat boring country life in a small southern town.  She’s been able to get past a pretty hurtful breakup and is adjusting to life as the fiancée of the town’s veterinarian.  Life is pretty good.  For Small Town, USA, that is.  Things take a turn for the worse when there’s a dead body found up on one of the big local farms.  Suddenly everything is turned upside-down.  Not just because there’s clearly been a murder, but because her ex is now here working the case with her.  He’s a Texas Ranger and is assigned to help on the case.  A distraction she doesn’t need especially when this turns into a real humdinger case of who-done-it.  The murder turns out to be the tip of the iceberg and Laney uncovers a huge case of debt, drugs and deceit.  The likes she never thought she’d see in her small town.  Add working alongside her sexy as sin ex and digging up all sorts of feelings she’d like to leave behind, and this may prove to be the hardest case of Laney’s life.

Whew, talk about a mystery that had me on the edge of my seat until the end!  Laney sure had her hands full from the very beginning and with so many colorful townspeople and viable suspects; she had her work cut out for her.  That poor gal was put through the ringer in this book but I loved that she never gave up…or even thought about quitting.  One of my favorite parts of this book though was Jodi’s ability to write a small town that I truly felt a part of.  The characters were described with such great detail that I loved some of them, hated others and laughed with many of them.   I think this is a great start to the series and feel like we have a great foundation for the series to come.

Thank you , Jodi, for Pretty Reckless!  I’m looking forward to what’s in store for Laney in the future.

Four Loves

 

 

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Guest Post from Jodi:

THE MAKING OF DEPUTY LANEY BRIGGS.

Often I’m asked how I came up with Laney Briggs.  It’s a long story, so I’ll give the condensed version of it for now.

When we first moved to Austin from north Texas, my husband and I found ourselves thrust into a big city with small town charm.  I worked various temp jobs for several months since having a bachelor’s degree in history really didn’t get the plum pickings in the job department. When it came down to the writing part of this story, I didn’t actually start typing away on the computer until I became pregnant with my first child. After several failed attempts at trying to complete a manuscript, I shoved writing aside and focused on raising my son for a few years.

Then, one day I decided to try my hand at writing again.

For the most part, the series started out with a brainstorming session I had with my husband. As I was in the middle of writing a manuscript (which will never see the light of day), I hit a wall and decided to trash the project until I could find my writing muse again. In the end, my husband suggested that I should write what I knew, and that was…Texas. My inner cheerleader wanted to shake her pom-poms when the name Laney Briggs popped into my head.

After that, it all sort of fell into place.

I grew up in a small town, so I knew the language and the fun peculiarities of small town people. Within days of that conversation with my husband, I had a clear vision of who my protagonist would be.  There she was, a sassy female sheriff deputy whose sharp tongue could outwit any hunky cowboy.

Now if you want the longer version of the story, buy me a cold one if we ever cross paths later on down the road, and we’ll sit down for a spell.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the author:

Jodi Linton grew up across the street from a cow pasture, where she was more likely to be seen selling Kool-Aid in a Dixie cup at ten cents a pop, or inviting neighbors over to watch one of her plays staged on her father’s Bass boat.

In 2001, she traded in the rednecks, cowboys, and mesquite trees of her hometown to chase destiny out west. After a few years of mucking it around with the roughnecks, dust storms, and droughts, she decided to dust off her boots and head home. With a History degree in one hand and a marriage license in the other, she followed her husband in 2006 to central Texas the heartland, fabulous Austin.

After settling into the Texas Hill Country with her husband and two kids, she joined the Austin Romance Writers of America, and signed with The Belcastro Agency.  Today she can be found cozied up to the computer escaping into a quirky world of tall tales, sexy, tight jean wearing cowboys, and a protagonist with a sharp-tongue quick enough to hang any man out to dry.

 

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