What do you think?
Rate this book
A Sherri Travis Mystery #4
Champagne for Buzzards
With its seven foot snakes and nasty horses, Florida ranch country can be as dangerous as the mean streets of any big city. Sherri Travis doesn't do country. She likes it even less when she meets Clay Adam's psychotic neighbors and finds a dead man in the back of her pickup. With fairy lights dancing through the Spanish moss and violent men closing in, the surprise party Sherri plans for Clay turns deadly.
- GenresMystery
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Phyllis Smallman
19 books55 followersCrime Writers of Canada award winning author, Phyllis Smallman, was short-listed for the Debut Dagger in the UK, and has been awarded both silver and gold medals by the Independent Publishers. She was a potter before turning to a life of crime. She lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, where she golfs badly and writes madly.
Visit http://www.phyllismallman.com to read excerpts from her Singer Brown and Sherri Travis books.
Visit http://www.phyllismallman.com to read excerpts from her Singer Brown and Sherri Travis books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 18, 2011
This is the first novel in the Sherri Travis Mystery series that I have read although it is the fourth book. It is preceded by Margarita Nights, Sex in a Sidecar and A Brewski For The Old Man. It is not necessary to have read the first three to enjoy this book. I wish I had as Sherri Travis is a wonderful, spunky character that I'm looking forward to learning more about.
Sherri Travis, our heroine, owns and manages a bar called The Sunset in Jacaranda, Florida. Although Sherri grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, her beau Clay Adams is a wealthy man who had recently purchased a ranch, called Riverwood, in nearby Independence. While Sherri is attempting to ready the ranch for a surprise birthday party for Clay, she encounters his sinister neighbours as well as discovers a dead body in the back of truck. You would think the buzzards circling her would have tipped her off immediately but she is rather distracted by the party planning! While the quaint, tourist filled Jacaranda is Sherri's usual haunt, Independence is mired in secrets and evil. A corrupt sheriff, scary gun-toting neighbours on ATVs, and the mysterious search for a "dangerous" man provide for the thrills in this book. What Sherri discovers when she starts digging is heart wrenching....
This is a great story told by a talented author...the story just flows nice and easy like a southern breeze. I enjoyed the characters who Sherri is surrounded by. All in all a great read. I'm looking forward to reading more Sherri Travis books by Phyllis Smallman.
Excellent prices for these novels in the Kindle version on the Amazon site.
Sherri Travis, our heroine, owns and manages a bar called The Sunset in Jacaranda, Florida. Although Sherri grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, her beau Clay Adams is a wealthy man who had recently purchased a ranch, called Riverwood, in nearby Independence. While Sherri is attempting to ready the ranch for a surprise birthday party for Clay, she encounters his sinister neighbours as well as discovers a dead body in the back of truck. You would think the buzzards circling her would have tipped her off immediately but she is rather distracted by the party planning! While the quaint, tourist filled Jacaranda is Sherri's usual haunt, Independence is mired in secrets and evil. A corrupt sheriff, scary gun-toting neighbours on ATVs, and the mysterious search for a "dangerous" man provide for the thrills in this book. What Sherri discovers when she starts digging is heart wrenching....
This is a great story told by a talented author...the story just flows nice and easy like a southern breeze. I enjoyed the characters who Sherri is surrounded by. All in all a great read. I'm looking forward to reading more Sherri Travis books by Phyllis Smallman.
Excellent prices for these novels in the Kindle version on the Amazon site.
January 1, 2012
Circling buzzards are not a good sign. That’s what Sherri Travis learns in her fourth adventure in this entertaining series. When bars have names like The Gator Hole and girls are called Lovey Sweet, you must be in Florida.
Sherri is a fast-talking, wise-cracking young woman who’d rather polish the bar at her Jacaranda tavern on the Gulf side than shop for fashion accessories. She’s happier with beer and a burger than caviar and cognac. Money’s tight, but she loves her customers and the laid-back coastal style. Her wealthy boyfriend Clay Adams has bought a ranch with a mansion that Sherri is helping to redecorate for a housewarming party. That’s when the buzzards arrive.
Tully, Sherri’s newfound dad, a Vietnam vet, and crusty Uncle Ziggy are living in Clay’s bunkhouse, but the family’s got Sherri’s back. When she’s implicated in the death of a local ne’er-do-well, Sherri goes looking for the killer. Too many people wanted a piece of the dead man, she soon finds out, including the family of a girl he got pregnant years ago. Another man is missing, too. There’s trouble in paradise, but what kind?
While Clay’s tied up in business, his neighbours with their truck farm are giving her problems, too. They’d love to annex his desirable property for their tomato fields. Is that why they’re buzzing his fence lines with muscle-bound quads? Their meathead psycho son has an eye for Sherri and doesn’t take kindly to her refusals. Sherri’s firecracker horse, Joey, gallops into the surprising role of hero. He’s the most personable quadruped since Frances the Mule
Sherri’s connection with “low places,” including a solid background in trailer parks serves her well as she juggles motives and hunts for the culprit. She’s at home at the wheel of Big Red, the battered truck belonging to her dead husband. It wouldn’t be the first time she rode out a hurricane with a “Bring it on!” But her heart’s the size of Lake Okeechobee. Here, as a “pack animal” herself, she stops to take pity on an abused soul:
A thin brown dog, at the end of a heavy chain, was going around and around a stake in the middle of the yard, retracing over and over again the perfect circle he had worn into the earth. The chain itself had dragged over the soil within the circle and torn out every living thing. The merciless sun beat down on the thin spiked grass that spotted the sandy soil outside of the circle. Only about four feet of the dog’s journey went through any shade at all. He’d exhaust himself in his endless circuit, fall down in the shade until he recovered, then get up and begin his restless journey again.
Any guesses if the dog leaves with her? No one does Florida as well as Phyllis Smallman. I love hanging out with Sherri and her over-the-hill gang. It’s the next best thing to spending the winter in the Sunshine State.
Sherri is a fast-talking, wise-cracking young woman who’d rather polish the bar at her Jacaranda tavern on the Gulf side than shop for fashion accessories. She’s happier with beer and a burger than caviar and cognac. Money’s tight, but she loves her customers and the laid-back coastal style. Her wealthy boyfriend Clay Adams has bought a ranch with a mansion that Sherri is helping to redecorate for a housewarming party. That’s when the buzzards arrive.
Tully, Sherri’s newfound dad, a Vietnam vet, and crusty Uncle Ziggy are living in Clay’s bunkhouse, but the family’s got Sherri’s back. When she’s implicated in the death of a local ne’er-do-well, Sherri goes looking for the killer. Too many people wanted a piece of the dead man, she soon finds out, including the family of a girl he got pregnant years ago. Another man is missing, too. There’s trouble in paradise, but what kind?
While Clay’s tied up in business, his neighbours with their truck farm are giving her problems, too. They’d love to annex his desirable property for their tomato fields. Is that why they’re buzzing his fence lines with muscle-bound quads? Their meathead psycho son has an eye for Sherri and doesn’t take kindly to her refusals. Sherri’s firecracker horse, Joey, gallops into the surprising role of hero. He’s the most personable quadruped since Frances the Mule
Sherri’s connection with “low places,” including a solid background in trailer parks serves her well as she juggles motives and hunts for the culprit. She’s at home at the wheel of Big Red, the battered truck belonging to her dead husband. It wouldn’t be the first time she rode out a hurricane with a “Bring it on!” But her heart’s the size of Lake Okeechobee. Here, as a “pack animal” herself, she stops to take pity on an abused soul:
A thin brown dog, at the end of a heavy chain, was going around and around a stake in the middle of the yard, retracing over and over again the perfect circle he had worn into the earth. The chain itself had dragged over the soil within the circle and torn out every living thing. The merciless sun beat down on the thin spiked grass that spotted the sandy soil outside of the circle. Only about four feet of the dog’s journey went through any shade at all. He’d exhaust himself in his endless circuit, fall down in the shade until he recovered, then get up and begin his restless journey again.
Any guesses if the dog leaves with her? No one does Florida as well as Phyllis Smallman. I love hanging out with Sherri and her over-the-hill gang. It’s the next best thing to spending the winter in the Sunshine State.
July 26, 2011
Champagne for Buzzards
By Phyllis Smallman
Copyright March 2011
Publisher MacArthur & Co.
With its seven-foot snakes and nasty horses, Florida ranch country can be as dangerous as the mean streets of any big city. Bartender Sherri Travis doesn’t do country. Temporarily holed up at her partner Clay Adams’ ranch, Sherri likes the country even less when she meets Clay Adams’ psychotic neighbors and finds a dead man in the back of her pickup.
The murder investigation takes a sinister turn when Sherri uncovers some shocking facts about the neighbors. With fairy lights dancing through the Spanish moss and violent men closing in, the surprise birthday party Sherri plans for Clay turns deadly. And while it isn't the party Sherri hoped for, it's a good one just the same.
Sherri’s life could not now or ever be considered an average everyday life. But she has finally reached a place where is fairly happy and content with what is going on around her. She and her dad, and Uncle Ziggy are temporally living out on Clay’s ranch while it’s being re-furnished for her and Clay’s living together. Finding her bright red truck surrounded by buzzards would make anyone a little upset, finding a dead body in the truck bed is enough to set her off on a mission to find out who killed the dead guy and why they put it in her truck.
Along with all this, Sherri is also putting together a large surprise party for Clay, keeping an eye on dad and uncle, and dealing with Laura Kemp. Laura is one of Clay’s ex girlfriends and also the decorator for the Ranch House. Once Sherri gets a look at Laura’s plans she explains rather pointedly to Laura that she wanted a house that felt comfortable to live in, and not a display place for some magazine.
Sherri Travis and her family and extended family are an amazing mix of characters. Sherri is a very well thought out character. Her life, attitudes, and lifestyle are portrayed in a way that makes you cheer her on no matter what the circumstances of her life are doing for her. This was my first Travis Mystery and I was totally enthralled by the story. You can be sure I’ll be lining up with all the other fans of Sherri Travis to grab her next adventure.
Author Phyllis Smallman can be found hanging out at http://www.phyllissmallman.com/Blog.html and also at https://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/pro...
FTC Full Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book only asking for a fair review.
By Phyllis Smallman
Copyright March 2011
Publisher MacArthur & Co.
With its seven-foot snakes and nasty horses, Florida ranch country can be as dangerous as the mean streets of any big city. Bartender Sherri Travis doesn’t do country. Temporarily holed up at her partner Clay Adams’ ranch, Sherri likes the country even less when she meets Clay Adams’ psychotic neighbors and finds a dead man in the back of her pickup.
The murder investigation takes a sinister turn when Sherri uncovers some shocking facts about the neighbors. With fairy lights dancing through the Spanish moss and violent men closing in, the surprise birthday party Sherri plans for Clay turns deadly. And while it isn't the party Sherri hoped for, it's a good one just the same.
Sherri’s life could not now or ever be considered an average everyday life. But she has finally reached a place where is fairly happy and content with what is going on around her. She and her dad, and Uncle Ziggy are temporally living out on Clay’s ranch while it’s being re-furnished for her and Clay’s living together. Finding her bright red truck surrounded by buzzards would make anyone a little upset, finding a dead body in the truck bed is enough to set her off on a mission to find out who killed the dead guy and why they put it in her truck.
Along with all this, Sherri is also putting together a large surprise party for Clay, keeping an eye on dad and uncle, and dealing with Laura Kemp. Laura is one of Clay’s ex girlfriends and also the decorator for the Ranch House. Once Sherri gets a look at Laura’s plans she explains rather pointedly to Laura that she wanted a house that felt comfortable to live in, and not a display place for some magazine.
Sherri Travis and her family and extended family are an amazing mix of characters. Sherri is a very well thought out character. Her life, attitudes, and lifestyle are portrayed in a way that makes you cheer her on no matter what the circumstances of her life are doing for her. This was my first Travis Mystery and I was totally enthralled by the story. You can be sure I’ll be lining up with all the other fans of Sherri Travis to grab her next adventure.
Author Phyllis Smallman can be found hanging out at http://www.phyllissmallman.com/Blog.html and also at https://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/pro...
FTC Full Disclosure: The author sent me a copy of this book only asking for a fair review.
November 13, 2017
Awesome could not put the book down💋
May 2, 2019
I really enjoy spending time with Sherri Travis. Thank you, Phyllis Smallman.
January 27, 2012
In the fourth of Phyllis Smallman’s Sherri Travis mysteries, the protagonist, who co-owns a restaurant/bar with her lover, Clay Adams, is planning his surprise birthday party at his ranch, 300 acres of jungle in Riverwood, Florida, near that state’s west coast. The title derives from the fact that champagne is high on her shopping list, the ‘buzzards’ part from those unexpected carrion birds who have discovered and feasted upon a body under the tarp covering the back of her pickup truck [The truck had been her husband’s, murdered two years prior and the subject of an earlier book.]
Also living at the ranch are Sherri’s father, Tulsa (“Tully”] Jenkins, and “uncle” Ziggy [not related by blood but might as well be], both in their sixties but still as feisty as Sherri, which is saying something. She describes herself and Clay as “cultured and refined met smart-mouthed trailer trash,” she being the latter [called by Clay his “little beach-bar Mona Lisa].” Their differences include the fact that she is 31, and he about to turn 45. With her best friend, dental hygienist Marley, the two women start out bringing the upcoming party to fruition, but end up trying to solve the murder of the man who had gotten the attention of the aforementioned buzzards, to their peril. [The women, that is, not the buzzards.]
What ensues is a terrific and fast-paced mystery, complete with psychotic neighbors with a secret that they would do anything to protect, and a missing employee from whom Clay had earlier bought the ranch. I had been unfamiliar with the work of this author [who apparently divides her time between Salt Spring Island, British Columbia and Manasota Beach, Florida], but will certainly keep an eye out for future offerings. This was a thoroughly enjoyable novel, and it is recommended.
Also living at the ranch are Sherri’s father, Tulsa (“Tully”] Jenkins, and “uncle” Ziggy [not related by blood but might as well be], both in their sixties but still as feisty as Sherri, which is saying something. She describes herself and Clay as “cultured and refined met smart-mouthed trailer trash,” she being the latter [called by Clay his “little beach-bar Mona Lisa].” Their differences include the fact that she is 31, and he about to turn 45. With her best friend, dental hygienist Marley, the two women start out bringing the upcoming party to fruition, but end up trying to solve the murder of the man who had gotten the attention of the aforementioned buzzards, to their peril. [The women, that is, not the buzzards.]
What ensues is a terrific and fast-paced mystery, complete with psychotic neighbors with a secret that they would do anything to protect, and a missing employee from whom Clay had earlier bought the ranch. I had been unfamiliar with the work of this author [who apparently divides her time between Salt Spring Island, British Columbia and Manasota Beach, Florida], but will certainly keep an eye out for future offerings. This was a thoroughly enjoyable novel, and it is recommended.
June 30, 2012
Book 4, in the Sherri Travis mystery
This has been an ever pleasing series right from the start and is still on an uphill curve. The characters are the driving force and are continuously fine-tuned to keep up with each new adventure they face. I like this series for its sharp and funny dialogue and the smooth seductive way the author brings you into the heat of the action. The writing is precise and to the point and comes across in a Southern manner: slow, laid back, drink in hand enjoying the moment style. In this latest tale there is a dark side it focuses on sexual predators and slave labour.
In this story, Sherri is planning a surprise birthday party for her lover, Clay Adams, at his newly acquired Riverwood ranch located in Independence. It has a reputation of nasty horses and seven foot snakes.
Sherri is quickly introduced to Florida’s back country and its darker side. It can be as mean and unforgiving as the seedy side of any big city. The discovery of a body in the back of her pickup and suspicions that their psychotic neighbours may be at the root of this is an introduction into a whole new lifestyle. Sherri will quickly become up close and personal with a volatile situation that is quickly spinning out of control. Her nature is to be hands on and pro-active in order to find out what is really going on, all this really inflames her neighbour, Boomer Breslau. When he finds out he is up against a feisty female he vows not only to kill her but everyone in Riverwood. The peaceful setting of the ranch is chattered with the frequent sightings of highly modified all-terrain vehicles, armed to the hilt and hell- bent on revenge at any cost.
This is a very entertaining story, one you can breeze through in no time and enjoy every moment.
This has been an ever pleasing series right from the start and is still on an uphill curve. The characters are the driving force and are continuously fine-tuned to keep up with each new adventure they face. I like this series for its sharp and funny dialogue and the smooth seductive way the author brings you into the heat of the action. The writing is precise and to the point and comes across in a Southern manner: slow, laid back, drink in hand enjoying the moment style. In this latest tale there is a dark side it focuses on sexual predators and slave labour.
In this story, Sherri is planning a surprise birthday party for her lover, Clay Adams, at his newly acquired Riverwood ranch located in Independence. It has a reputation of nasty horses and seven foot snakes.
Sherri is quickly introduced to Florida’s back country and its darker side. It can be as mean and unforgiving as the seedy side of any big city. The discovery of a body in the back of her pickup and suspicions that their psychotic neighbours may be at the root of this is an introduction into a whole new lifestyle. Sherri will quickly become up close and personal with a volatile situation that is quickly spinning out of control. Her nature is to be hands on and pro-active in order to find out what is really going on, all this really inflames her neighbour, Boomer Breslau. When he finds out he is up against a feisty female he vows not only to kill her but everyone in Riverwood. The peaceful setting of the ranch is chattered with the frequent sightings of highly modified all-terrain vehicles, armed to the hilt and hell- bent on revenge at any cost.
This is a very entertaining story, one you can breeze through in no time and enjoy every moment.
July 10, 2013
This novel is the 4th in the series, but the first that I have read. I found the main character, Sherri Travis, a complex person. She appears to be a person raised in a lower class trailer community but has pulled herself up and found an older man she loves. They co-own a bar/restaurant.
To show her love for her man, Clay Adams, Sherri plans on throwing him a fancy surprise Birthday party. There are blocks to her plans, but none so scary as an apparent man hunt going on that is involving the acreage of Clay's Florida Cracker Horse ranch.
As the man hunt intensifies, Sherri runs afoul of some of the 'hunters' a man who is a stereotypic redneck, self professed rapist and worse, and the actual Sheriff, who is apparently in the paid pocket of the rapist and other farmers interested in slave labor.
This novel was gritty, earthy, scary, and thought-provoking. I also found myself in tears over the bravery of Sherri's animals that had more common and decent sense than the neighbors.
I liked Sherri (although she was too gritty for me,) and her family. The ending was terrifying but exciting and I could not put it down.
To show her love for her man, Clay Adams, Sherri plans on throwing him a fancy surprise Birthday party. There are blocks to her plans, but none so scary as an apparent man hunt going on that is involving the acreage of Clay's Florida Cracker Horse ranch.
As the man hunt intensifies, Sherri runs afoul of some of the 'hunters' a man who is a stereotypic redneck, self professed rapist and worse, and the actual Sheriff, who is apparently in the paid pocket of the rapist and other farmers interested in slave labor.
This novel was gritty, earthy, scary, and thought-provoking. I also found myself in tears over the bravery of Sherri's animals that had more common and decent sense than the neighbors.
I liked Sherri (although she was too gritty for me,) and her family. The ending was terrifying but exciting and I could not put it down.
May 20, 2011
Readers of Sara Paretsky and Janet Evanovich are sure to find their next favourite author in Phyllis Smallman. Smart, sassy and from the wrong side of town, Florida bartender Sherri Travis just can't help finding trouble wherever she goes.
A review from the National Post says, "the writing keeps getting tighter, and Smallman knows how to crank up the reader’s tension. The dialogue is often sharp and funny, and her portrayal of Florida and its residents seems spot on. Champagne for Buzzards and its predecessors are certainly read-in-one-sitting books (in a good way). One can’t help wanting more and anticipating the next book in this entertaining and fast-paced series."
A review from the National Post says, "the writing keeps getting tighter, and Smallman knows how to crank up the reader’s tension. The dialogue is often sharp and funny, and her portrayal of Florida and its residents seems spot on. Champagne for Buzzards and its predecessors are certainly read-in-one-sitting books (in a good way). One can’t help wanting more and anticipating the next book in this entertaining and fast-paced series."
Read
March 8, 2013With its seven foot snakes and nasty horses, Florida ranch country can be as dangerous as the mean streets of any big city. Sherri Travis doesn't do country. She likes it even less when she meets Clay Adam's psychotic neighbors and finds a dead man in the back of her pickup. With fairy lights dancing through the Spanish moss and violent men closing in, the surprise party Sherri plans for Clay turns deadly.
(less)
(less)
September 2, 2011
I loved this book, especially the last 75 pages. Sherri is driving around and buzzards keep diving into the back of her truck. She finally investigates and finds a dead body. There is a click in town with the sheriff and the Breslaus, especially Boomer who vows to outright kill Sherri for embarrassing him and putting her nose where it does not belong.
November 22, 2011
Sherri Travis, and this is her third adventure (although my first), wonders why buzzards are flocking to the back of her pickup truck. It turns out that a dead body has been left there. Set in Florida ranch country, this is one of those light mysteries that you read at the airport and don't mind at all if you leave the book there by mistake.
November 18, 2011
This was a great read. I like the way she wove the issue of Human Trafficking and Slavery into an exciting storyline, a subject that needs to be openly addressed by many, many more people and governments worldwide!! Kudos Phyllis, job well done!!
April 27, 2013
Loved it! Fast read, fast paced, fast moving!
Phyllis Smallman is awesome and she makes me feel as if I am back in Florida. The story had me on the edge till the end.
Awesome!! Totally awesome!! What trouble will Sherri Travis get into next? I can hardly wait!
Phyllis Smallman is awesome and she makes me feel as if I am back in Florida. The story had me on the edge till the end.
Awesome!! Totally awesome!! What trouble will Sherri Travis get into next? I can hardly wait!
Read
September 24, 2011pretty awful - perky, southern US, not my sort at all.
November 10, 2015
Another good read in the series.
March 7, 2016
Another good book in the series. This one involved human trafficking with some scary consequences, that I never knew about.
April 7, 2016
She always saves the best for last!! This was no exception. This is my 5th Sherri Travis book and I still enjoy the romp through Florida!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews