Ledbetter's deft handling of humor and human passions has become her trademark (I've read all of her work) Colorado Reverie combines a well-researched western setting, fast-paced action, and a plot whose twist will leave you blinking. Don't start it unless you have time to read it in one sitting!

Colorado Reverie, Suzann Ledbetter's fourth western/historical novel, is a fine, fast-moving read. The setting is Colorado Territory, the time the Civil War -- but the focus, as always with Ledbetter, is on character. Dianna Redieu is a fictional romantic heroine, a lady gambler, a Yankee spy. But at the end of the book -- the Epilogue and the Author's Note -- the reader is propelled back to the Prologue and only then begins to realize the complex relationship between Beryl Crookshank of Toodam, Kansas, and Dianna Redieu of Denver City and Pueblo, Colorado. Between the "dreaming and the coming true," this book will please a wide spectrum or readers

This book was spectacular. I really enjoyed readingit. I could not help laughing when she thought he was after her, to kill her(I can not recall what the characters names were). I also thought it was funny when they had there fight at the end. I can not wait to read other books by Mrs. Ledbetter

I'm sure that Suzann Ledbetter is probably used to being compared with Erma Bombeck by now (except for the obvious difference--that Suzann is still living). Let's see, there's "Erma for the 90s" and "Bombeck with a twang."

But as much as I liked reading Erma, she was the voice of my mother's generation. Her newspaper columns were clipped and mailed back and forth between my mom and her friends.

Suzann, however, is the voice of my generation, coming to me at a time (post-childbirth, pre-menopause) that I can appreciate the humor in such essays as "Good Mothers Do" and "Birthday Boondoggles." I can envision myself sending these gems to my contemporaries, but more likely through e-mail, than "snail mail."

But she wisely doesn't limit herself to writing about motherhood. She manages to skewer the rest of the world, and the goofy people in it, as well. Suzann, who lives just outside of Springfield, Missouri, is a contributing editor to Family Circle magazine and writes a Sunday column for the Springfield News-Leader.

In Denver City, Joby Sawyer runs a detective agency, an unheard of occupation for a female in the late nineteenth century. To hide her gender in plain sight, Joby tells her clients that she is just an agent for her father, a former Deputy US Marshall, who is away on an investigation or he is ailing. She insists her father performs all the sleuthing. In reality her indisposed dad is dead.

Joby is working on several cases involving a jewel thief, a murder, and finding proof to enable an abused wife to divorce her nasty spouse. Her only help is Chinese immigrant Won Li who thinks Joby is a lunatic especially when she tests new sleuthing ideas. As she works the cases, collecting the fee from a shyster lawyer may prove almost as difficult as solving the cases.

A LADY NEVER TRIFLES WITH THIEVES is an interesting dichotomy. The western historical mystery hooks the audience with tension yet often renders readers amused with the antics of the heroine. The story line is loaded with action while providing insight into the role of women especially through the gender nuking antics of Joby. In the final analysis, it is the cast that makes Suzann Ledbetter's tale one of the better sub-genre entries as they take the reader through a fun experience.

Harriet Klausner

If you want inspiration to make it in this world as a women, I highly recommend TRINITY STRIKE. The story of Megan O'Malley, an Irish immigrant of the mid-1800's, is so powerful and moving I couldn't stop reading until I was finished, then saddened that I couldn't read more about this fascinating woman. The story is exciting, humorous and sometimes sad, but the spirit of Megan is the strenght that holds the pages together. I thought it one of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommended.

This was my favorite of the 4 in the series by Suzann Ledbetter.
If you need a laugh but want a bit of romance and some bizarre sleuthing thrown in, this is a great read. Her characters are charming and quirky which I find is what really makes this a fun book. The escapades of the senior set at the Valhalla Springs retirement community are a nice complement to the developing relationship between Hannah and the Sheriff. Two thumbs up!

Suzan Ledbetter's South of Sanity is a delightful, easy read. The characters are charming: a sexy Sheriff David Hendrickson, quirky old-agers and townspeople, wacky senior citizen sleuths IdaClare and Delbert, and Hannah Garvey, a 40-something advertising agency dynamo who leaves Chicago's hustle and bustle to manage Valhalla Springs, an exclusive retirement community in the Missouri Ozarks. Even the pets are memorable, a mutt named Malcolm and a rottweiler named Rambo.

The dialogue's incredible with the vivid mental pictures it evokes. Some of the scenes will have you laughing out loud. The prose can sometimes require a re-read because its breeziness is confusing, but it's saucy and funny.

The mystery plot's good with a not-too-obvious twist. The romantic tense great! The rich blend of humor, romance, mystery, and danger with the author's sense of humor provides the reader with non-stop reading enjoyment.

Can't wait to read East of Peculiar, the first of the series, and North of Clever, the sequel, when it comes out. Suzan Ledbetter has me hooked on this series. Her style is fast, refreshing, and hilariously funny. Great entertainment!

After Reading Suzann Ledbetter's East of Peculiar, this second visit to the retirement village continues the fun and mystery. The characters in this book are just that...characters! These elderly people that our heroine looks after are a real treat. I can't wait for the third book in the series.

When she first accepted Jack Clancy's job offer to manage an Ozarks retirement community, Harriet Garvey thought her biggest problem would be boredom. However, Valhalla Springs proves wilder than her former home Chicago. In a very short time Harriet has been on several murder investigations and a few other felonies. However, her toughest problem is her deep feelings for local Sheriff David Henderson even though the Gods must frown upon this couple mating as coitus interruptus is the norm of their relationship.

Though she loathes Eulliy Thomlinson, Jack convinces her to represent him at a going away party for the woman and her spouse Chet. Everything seems okay until D.K. Bogart starts shooting at people; Chet retaliates and kills him. Most of Kinderhook County think Chet is a hero, but Dave and Harriet wonder about the incident. Accompanied by her geriatric detectives, Harriet begins to make inquiries while Dave tries to entice her to marry him. He also attempts to coax his love and her band of amateurs to not investigate.

WEST OF BLISS is an engaging amateur sleuth tale starring a frustrated hero, a clever heroine, and an insane peculiar crowd of seniors who often steal the plot. The story line is well written, but though the mystery is delightfully disguised, the banter between Harriet and Dave feels stale perhaps because this is the fourth novel in two years without enough movement in their relationship. Still Suzann Ledbetter provides an amusing amateur sleuth police procedural combo that now needs to move to the center of the compass and fully explore the magnetism between the lead duo.

Harriet Klausner

I love this series! If you like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Crusie, you'll love Suzann Ledbetter's books. Ledbetter may not write towards comedy as much as Crusie or Phillips, but there's a lot of laughs and the character of Hannah is wonderfully written. All of the books are good, there are no duds in this series, and you will put them directly on your keeper shelf when you are done reading them. Guaranteed.

If you've never read this Suzann Ledbetter series (North of Clever, South of Sanity, East of Peculiar, and now West of Bliss), you've missed at least three enjoyable evenings of reading.

In this 4th novel, Hannah Garvey is still the manager at Valhalla, an expensive/selective senior adult living community. David Hendrickson, the county sheriff, is now more serious than ever ("Will you marry me?"). Hannah is still concerned about their age difference but is beginning to consider the "how will we..." items that will occur.

At a farewell party for two Valhalla residents, the dishwasher shoots and kills two people, wounds two more (including Ida Clancy) and is then shot by the husband of one of the victims. Even though he doesn't gain by her death, the suspicions of the Valhalla investigators (if you've read the previous boooks, you'll know they are a hilarious group of residents who will go to any lengths to protect Hannah) are raised. Add in the additional fact that Jack Clancy, owner of Valhalla, is acting peculiarly and you are in for an enjoyable evening.

Now that Ms. Ledbetter has exhausted the four main directions, (N, E, S, and W), I can only hope that she does the NE, SW, etc. and doesn't stop the Hannah Garvey series.

The author has a breezy, enjoyable style of writing and has created a quirky, endearing ensemble of characters as well as a hunky cop hero. I like the premise of a mystery series set in a retirement community, and using older characters in supporting roles. I feel the publisher did a disservice to this author by labeling her book a romance, though--it's not a romance. It's clearly intended to be an ongoing mystery series, and labeling it romance means the book misses its targeted audience. While I did enjoy the story and will read this author's next book in the series, I did find the humor at times labored, and the focus of the book not as tight as it could be--for me this was because there were too many secondary characters who were largely interchangeable, and a mystery that wasn't as central to the book as it should've been. I kept getting the feeling the author was trying to write a romance, a mystery, a comedy, and a women's fiction type of book all in one, which for me resulted in a plot that meandered a lot. I'm hoping in her next book she focuses more on the mystery.

East of Peculiar lives up to the title. Hannah, the new resident manager of a mid-west retirement community (and our heroine) is surrounded by peculiar characters and goings-on. Every time things begin to heat up between her and the local sheriff (and younger man!), another murder or robbery or other strange happening seems to interrupt them. Aided (or often impeded) by a band of senior citizen sleuths, Hannah is determined to figure out what's going on in the retirement community for which she is reponsible. And then she can return the sheriff's romantic advances. This book is a great deal of fun. Curl up on the sofa or on the beach and enjoy!

I read "South Of Sanity", the sequel to this book first. Even though it's easy enough to follow the story line if read out of sequence, I think reading this one first gives the reader a little bit better insight into the secondary characters...and glorious characters they are! Janet Evanovich is the only other author that comes to mind with the ability to interweave a good mystery along with a heroine with interesting but flawed looks, and a mouth like Phyllis Diller (she even THINKS funny!). Throw in a hunky hero that's in law inforcement who looks just like________ (fill in the blank with your personal favorite action hero). Top off with another hero that is a bit off-beat. Okay, here's a clue. He's old enough to be an escort for blue haired ladies, but you just want to jump into the pages of this book and slather him with kisses and hug him to death! Top off with a group of elderly, pot-smoking matrons wanting to help our heroine & hero solve the mystery and you have all the ingredients for a ton of laughs, some breath-holding moments and a hot romance that keeps getting hotter. Can't ask much more from a book than that! One complaint.....have to wait until December, 2001 for the 3rd in this series. Ah well, I know the wait will be worth it!

I had read Ms. Ledbetter's previous two books and enjoyed them both. However this one left me feeling flat..
the plot seemed thin and formulaic; a frail framework to hold us in suspense not to wonder at the outcome of the murders, but to keep us enthralled with the frustrated romance of the main protagonists. It was as though she had to meet a publisher's deadline and, distractedly wrote this while doing 15 other things. I hope her next one features more of the wacky activities of her elderly sleuths.....

Imagine getting ready to finally consummate your relationship with one of the sexiest men you have ever met that just happens to be seven years younger and the sheriff of the town. You've worked up to this moment, the time is finally here, you are ready for it, anticipation hums in the air, finally, finally it is going to happen, and then wham. . . his parents show up unexpectedly before you can do the deed! Welcome to North of Clever, the continuing saga of Hannah Garvey, Sheriff David Hendrickson, and the over the hill gang of the exclusive retirement community of Valhalla Springs.

As luck would have it, Hannah and David are interrupted before the big moment. Some people have all the rotten luck. Now are you ready for a nice, quiet little story? Don't be, things are never what you expect when dealing with Susann Ledbetter's stories. Have no fear; things run amok in Hannah and David's relationship when the circus comes to town. Sheriff David is continuing to campaign for his bid to be reelected as sheriff of Sanity, Missouri. His opponent is a good for nothing good old boy who promises to deliver the moon and stars to the good citizens while making mountains out of molehills the little things that have happened lately in their town while David is in lust with Hannah. David, needing some goodwill from the townspeople, goes to see the visiting circus and takes Hannah along. It should be a day of fun and goodwill. Right? As usual, life isn't simple with our heroine and hero. Who does Hannah just happen to meet at the circus? Her long lost father who turns out to be none other than Reilly Boone, former star magician. He is now the husband-assistant of the lady illusionist AnnaLeigh who just happens to be built like a centerfold and isn't exactly what you call the faithful wife. During their performance the lovely, two-timing AnnaLeigh bites the dust as their bullet-catch trick turns out to be the real thing and she ends up dead. Reilly is charged with murder and Hannah and the over the hill gang race to prove his innocence.

This is a fun book to read; however, it doesn't quite manage to hit all the high notes as the two previous books. I can't really put my finger on what isn't right in the story. While the over the hill gang played their part, it seems like they don't have much to do with the plot as they have in the two previous books until the end. There wasn't as much emphasis placed on Hannah and David's relationship throughout the story. Beginning and ending are pure Hannah and David, but in the middle they don't really work together as they have done in the past. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good book. I guess I was just a little disappointed it didn't have the same feel as the two previous books.

However, hats off to Suzann Ledbetter for generating anticipation for the fourth book, West of Bliss in July 2002. Wouldn't you just know it, David finally pops the big question to Hannah and we are left with no answer until the next book. Like any other loyal fan, I will be waiting for it just to see what kind of trouble can follow our gang over a simple marriage proposal. With this gang, no telling what is in store for us!

This book is the third in the series involving Hannah Garvey, the manager of an exclusive adult community. This book picks up where the second left off. Hannah and David Hendrickson had been about to (finally!) consumate their relationship when his parents unexpectedly turned up, interrupting the moment. It had taken a while for Hannah to get to that point, since she has issues with the fact that David is seven years younger than she is (she's about age 43 at the time of this story).

All that, however, becomes secondary to the main plot, which is the arrival of the circus in town, and its magician, a man who claims to be Hannah's father. Hannah's childhood had been a rocky one, and she isn't prepared to just welcome Daddy back with open arms. Of course, all isn't sweetness and light at the circus either, and needless to say, a murder occurs and the magician appears to be the culprit.

I thought that by the third book I might begin to get tired of Sarah's cohorts, a band of intrepid yet busybody seniors, but I actually liked them more in this book. Their personalities are differentiated better, I guess, and it's obvious that their actions are motivated on a large part by affection for Hannah. The romance between Hannah and David continues to perk along, becoming more sexually charged as time passes. One of the best parts of the romance is that he is rock-sure of his feelings toward her, which is a nice change of pace for a male lead character.

All in all, this is a great continuation of the series, and I'm looking forward to the next book.

In 1897 Seattle, Megan O'Malley worries about the delinquent behavior of her teenage son, B.D., who recently stole money from her and is hanging out with the wrong crowd. Megan concludes that she must take her boy out of his current environment before he lands in deeper trouble. She gets a couple of her friends to abduct the surly teen and place him on a ship heading to Alaska where Megan is already a legend. The pair leave the ship at Skagway and trek across mountains, swamps, and rivers to Dawson.

At Dawson, they literally fall into a gold strike. However, it is the reappearance of Pete Vladislav, an alcoholic, who once loved Megan, and his ward, Colleen that adds excitement into the lives of the O'Malleys. Megan and Pete quickly fall in love with each other; while B.D. and Colleen find themselves also falling in love. However, Pete falls off the wagon, leaving the two women, who mean everything in his life, hurt. Pete flees Dawson to come to grip with his recent failure. However, while meditating at his mountain hideaway, Pete accidentally shoots himself, leading to his leg being amputated. After he recovers, he disappears again to cope with being a cripple. If he fails to overcome his problems, this couple will have found that they only discovered fool's gold.

KLONDIKE FEVER is an exciting Anglo-Americana historical fiction starring a wonderful female protagonist and a great supporting cast. However, what makes Suzanne Ledbetter's novel an intriguing, very refreshing reading experience is the various changing relationships between several of the characters. Readers who delight in late nineteenth century historical fiction will enjoy this tale and want a sequel starring the two lovable teens.

Harriet Klausner