MY REVIEW:
“Petticoat Detective” is another fun to read western romance with a twist by Margaret Brownley. I always enjoy books by this author and this one was no exception.
When undercover Pinkerton detective Jennifer Layne is mistakenly thought to be wanting to work in Miss Lillian’s Parlor House and Boots, she decides to play along since there is probably no better way to learn the identity of the Gunnysack Bandit. She soon finds that pretending to be a lady companion will be more difficult than she expected. Jennifer is not the only one looking for the Gunnysack Bandit. Tom Colton, an ex Texas Ranger is searching for his brother’s murderer and his search leads him right to Miss Lillian’s. Despite a mighty strong attraction, both Jennifer and Tom also harbor suspicions about each other.
The plot of “Petticoat Detective” is well paced with plenty of surprises along the way as well as drama and romance. The story contains an abundance of humor including several unlikely business combinations and quirky characters. I particularly liked Jennifer’s character. Despite her uneasiness with how she was expected to dress for her “new job”, Jennifer grew to care for the other women who worked for Lillian and even Lillian herself. She got a personal taste of how others avoid or mistreat undesirable people which affected her own outlook.
“Petticoat Detective” is one of my favorite books of the past month or so and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy historical romance novels, especially westerns. I certainly look forward to the next novel in this series.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Pinkerton detective Jennifer Layne is no stranger to undercover work. But posing as a lady companion named Amy at Miss Lillian s Parlor House and Boots is a first for her. She s finally landed a high-profile case and is on the trail of the notorious Gunnysack Bandit, when one of Miss Lillian s girls essential to her investigation meets an untimely demise. Only a handful of people are in the house at the time of her death, including handsome Tom Colton, a former Texas Ranger determined to clear his brother s name. Amy has many reasons to suspect Tom of murder—and one very personal reason to hope that she s wrong about him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this, except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, “Maybe God’s calling you to write fiction.”
Margaret wasn’t sure that was true, but she wasn’t about to take chances. She now has more than 28 novels and is a New York Times bestselling author. Not bad for someone who failed 8th grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.
