Leave the Keys in the Visor

by Susie M. Bruning

"Natalie Calhoun is a thirty-one-year-old cardiologist surviving in a man's world. While at work, she makes precise, life-altering decisions, but her personal life is a swampland of indecision and problems, including a dead-beat boyfriend, having Death as a personal sidekick at work, and half a million dollars of debt.

Since her near-fatal accident as a child, Natalie can't help but count the dead in her life; it's a list that's increasing and includes her own mother. Fear of adding to that list forces her to accompany her irresponsible father, Martin, and her estranged brother, Sean, to Scotland, where comedic and catastrophic events occur. Traveling around northern Scotland and Wales in a compact car, ineptly navigating roads the size of golf paths, the family is forced to reevaluate old tensions and face hard truths regarding their mother's death and resulting events. Along the way, siblings sabotage their one-night stands; Martin trespasses on castle grounds; and Natalie crashes a rental car-leading to an unexpected run-in with a handsome Scottish islander, Conall. The Calhouns wonder if they'll make it out of Scotland alive, let alone solve lingering family issues.

Laugh-out-loud moments that highlight family tension and unexpected romance, Leave the Keys in the Visor is a dark, comedic romp for anyone who has gone on vacation and considered murdering their family in their sleep."

322 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2023

About the author

Susie McMullen Bruning has worked in the medical trenches the last twenty years as a cardiovascular ultrasound tech. When not scanning hearts, she writes as an Op-Ed contributor for the Lincoln Journal Star and as a travel correspondent for their lifestyle magazine. She is building her second career as a pet obituary writer, and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her husband, daughter and two cats. This is her first novel.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super easy read and I thought it was pretty cute. There are a few story lines going on here that kept me interested but they never got muddled or too confusing to follow. I appreciated the family aspect as well as the romance and some of it was genuinely very funny. I really liked the emails for some reason. I looked forward to them in every chapter. The main character was the type that couldn’t get out of her own way but I didn’t find her too annoying the way I have some characters of that type in other books. I would say my only reason for not giving it 5 stars is mostly just because there were some parts I didn’t quite get the point of. I understood the dynamics between Natalie and Sean and the reasons behind the unpleasantness between them but I really just got so annoyed with Sean for a lot of the book and felt like things wrapped up in a pretty bow rather quickly toward the end without much work after all the years of the relationship they had. That being said, I can (and would really like to!) see this story going farther. Maybe a series with the brothers (and maybe even the father) each getting their own book where we also see the characters from this book from different perspectives. Especially with the mother’s storyline I think that could be so, so good. Overall, a great first novel and I sincerely hope to read more from her in the future.

[Jeanette Erickson Stull · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to know that there's another woman out there who is as unromantic as I am, but I sure wish I could pull off lack of romanticism with as much humor and spunk as Nat does. I like to read my Kindle on walks on the bike trail. Many a stranger watched me laugh out loud as I was reading this one. But beyond the laughs, I so enjoyed watching the relationships evolve, including the strangers who became a couple and the siblings who finally put old and deep wounds behind them to become a family again.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family dynamics is the basis of this story. Good read. Towards the beginning I would have given it 5 stars for humor, but I thought it was a little too drawn out and the humor faded. I had a little trouble following the story line midway through the book. I think it could have been easily cut by about 50 pages. Some odd phrases I wasn't familiar with and a few minor typos. I received this free from Goodreads. I will be passing this book along and will be recommending it to others. This is my unbiased opinion.

[Mike Kresha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid imagination

Very entertaining book with a lot of twists and turns.
It tells a story of a broken daughter/sister that reconnects
With loved ones on a family vacation. Toss in a romance
With a Scottish hulk to complete the story.
The author is humorous as well as imaginative.
Very good read.

[Kelsey Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining story that has humor, drama, and unexpected romance. The backdrop of Scotland adds to the adventure of a family vacation. A great read. Can't wait for the next adventure from this author.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical! Def read if you want laughs and some romance!

[Lillie McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Super good book and fun to read. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something to read. Super funny and very well written.

[Starrlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book! Made me laugh out loud. can’t wait for the next one!

Very funny. Kept me engaged the whole book. I ready 1-2 books/day and loved this one. Please keep writing! ♥️👍🏻♥️

[Nate Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just won the giveaway! Can’t wait to read!

[Jessica Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny. I very much enjoyed the trip this book takes you on!

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

so much fun!

Really enjoyed this story - depth but not too deep, quirkily romantic, and Scotland! Read it because of a local connection and glad I did.

[Bill-kathy Shottenkirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book