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The first three Dusty Deals Mystery series novels in one box set. Read along as Lucy Mathews, her Alaskan malamute, Kiska and a cast of quirky characters find love and mystery in Montana.


Loose Screw


Lucy Mathews, crime reporter turned antiques dealer, avoids confrontation like a home perm. She even lets a cat shove her around.


When Lucy trips over the body of a buckskin-clad relics trader, her ex-boss asks her to cover the story. She tries to tell him no, but old habits die hard and soon she finds herself directly in the path of a killer and the exasperating, if attractive, detective in charge.


Can Lucy catch a killer or is this the last confrontation for her—period?


Cut Loose


No one’s perfect.


At least that’s what Lucy Mathews tells herself. Except faced with her boyfriend’s rodeo queen ex-wife and perfectly trained Australian shepherd, she has to wonder if maybe this whole ‘no one’s perfect’ thing was made up by someone like...Lucy.


Lucky for Lucy though, things are hopping around Helena. It’s rodeo season, and she has a booth. It’s a great opportunity to expand her clientele and maybe even snag a cash prize for Kiska as the world’s first sheep herding malamute.


Except Kiska can’t herd, Lucy loses her wallet, and oh yeah...there’s that dead rodeo queen Lucy just stumbled over.


Good thing her boyfriend’s a detective. Except that’s not going so well either. A new detective is in town, and he’s convinced Lucy’s involved in the rodeo queen’s murder. Her boyfriend is no help at all and worse he’s spending a little too much time with his ex-wife.


Lucy finds herself out of money, out of love, and maybe this time, out of luck.


Loosey Goosey


You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. You can though move two thousand miles away and hope they don’t come to visit. Unfortunately, for Lucy Mathews that only works for so long.


Lucy has a perfect week planned. The kind of week that includes a romantic dinner with her cowboy detective boyfriend, big dollar sales to the visiting Beef Ranchers Association and their wives, and maybe a relaxing holiday weekend at home with her Alaskan malamute, Kiska.


What she doesn’t have planned is a visit from her animal activist brother, his pet goose, Pauline, and his neon yellow van.


Lucy’s plans quickly go to the birds. First, her date is interrupted by brother and goose. Second she discovers a dead body, under her brother’s van. Then, when her brother gets arrested for the murder, the worst thing imaginable happens, Lucy’s mother finds out.


Not only is Lucy is left in charge of babysitting the recalcitrant goose, but her mother is threatening to come to Montana herself to solve the murder. Lucy has no choice but to dive into the investigation, and find the real murderer before her brother is put away for good.


Watch for Let Loose, book 4 in the Dusty Deals Mystery Series, coming March 2014.

714 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2014

111 people are currently reading
179 people want to read

About the author

Rae Davies

12 books58 followers
Rae Davies is the pen name of goodreads author Lori Devoti.

Lori Devoti worked for three different newspapers in two different states before deciding to stay home with her children and begin writing fiction. Lori has been a finalist for many awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award and is a member of Novelists Inc., a prestigious group for professional writers. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and children as well as two dogs.

Like Lucy, Lori loves antiques, Montana and malamutes.

Rae Davies has a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RaeDaviesAuthor and Pinterest boards at http://pinterest.com/raedaviesauthor/

(Source: http://raedavies.com/about/ )

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5 stars
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95 (36%)
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55 (21%)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Amber.
27 reviews18 followers
May 15, 2017
Doggone it

I like the setting and the milieu, but for the life of me, I can't learn to like the heroine.
Profile Image for Krystyna.
5,134 reviews55 followers
May 3, 2018
The dog and the goose steal the show.

Loved it and great value. She has never been to happy as a journalist and now loves her life as an antique shop owner. Unfortunately life has other plans for her and she keeps finding herself in the middle of various murder investigations. This puts her at loggerheads with the hunk on the local police force. She is independent but timid, however her sense of right and wrong is very strong and she can't face the fact that an innocent person might be jailed or that a killer might get off scott free. My favourite one is the third book where we meet not only her brother but his famous goose. Brilliant! The goose and her dog make this series one of my favourites.
Profile Image for Annalee.
40 reviews2 followers
August 2, 2018
So Refreshing!

I love that I can read a good mystery that is clever and fun! I loved this book set and the author's characters. I so enjoy that the author can use her knowledge of language and write books that aren't vulgar or filled with profanity! Truly delighted to have found Rae Davies!
Profile Image for Bonnie Fournier.
435 reviews5 followers
June 28, 2023
fun stories

I have a friend that lives in Montana, so I decided to listen to this series of books. I recognized a lot of the towns mentioned. To be honest I could see my friend as being the author. Makes you say hmmm
204 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2019
Fun, fun

I love cozy mysteries and this box set was fantastic. I really like Lucy and Kiska and look forward to reading the next book.
510 reviews2 followers
March 5, 2019
If you want a light read then I recommend this series. I believe in the magazine/newspaper world they would refer to this series as a fluff piece.
9 reviews
October 29, 2019
Dusty Deals is entertaining

I love the setting in Helena sand the definition of characters. The plots are just a little twisted, enough to keep you guessing until the end.
584 reviews3 followers
July 6, 2016
This is a cozy, but better written than many. Yes it has all the current clichés: sleuth owns a cute small retail business, is a pain in the ass (it is unlikely I would be her friend) has a cop boyfriend etc. And at times my cliché meter was definitely redlining. HOWEVER it's pretty well written and edited, and to my surprise - as I often hurl cozies of this genre across the room for a quick vomit - I read all three back to back and enjoyed them.

So if you're looking for James Elroy, this ain't it. Nor is it Agatha Christie. (Sleuth is apparently otherwise abled in the logic and intelligence departments) On the other hand if you want an entertaining book to spend some time on the balcony with a glass of wine and some nachos and dip, this is probably a fine choice.

I expect I'll read more by Rae Davies in the near future. (Her mother must have been a Kinks fan to name a child that in '80s and '90s America.)
Profile Image for Linda.
198 reviews2 followers
July 26, 2014
I love smart-alecky heroines, and Lucy is at the top of her genre. She has likeable quirky friends, a lovable malamute, an interesting antiques business and a knack for finding dead bodies. And let us not forget her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend with supreme patience and understanding. I raced through all three of these books and was glad that the mysteries remained mysterious until the final pages, although the author shared all of her clues as they were discovered. Great light reading.
Profile Image for Pat Welte.
812 reviews7 followers
February 27, 2016
This box set has three books, these books were a fun read, some romance, some mystery and funny. I really enjoyed reading this set. Rae does a good job of making her characters lifelike and I cared about what happened to them.
I am looking forward to more books by Rae Davies. I will certainly read more of her books. I would recommend this author to my friends and anyone that likes mystery, romance and fun books.
Profile Image for Vickie.
462 reviews1 follower
June 11, 2016
Oh Lucy what will you get into next

I really love the Dusty Deals series. Though I think Lucy is her own worst enemy sometimes. Lucy is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. You will however find yourself turning page after page just to see what else she will get into. If you like lighthearted mysteries you will find these to be a great escape series. ENJOY and as always happy reading
Profile Image for Trisha.
296 reviews6 followers
August 20, 2016
Entertaining

I mostly enjoyed these books. Her insecurities were both a good and a bad part of the book. It aided in the quirkiness that I'm sure the author was trying to bring to the storyline but was also annoying. Despite that, I did think the storyline was unique and enjoyable so off to see what book four in the series brings.
1,063 reviews4 followers
Read
September 19, 2016
Love rae davies books

If you haven't read this series than you should it is great. Great stories great characters. Will make you loose yourself in another place that you will not want to leave
Profile Image for Cathie.
570 reviews
August 21, 2016
This was not as funny as when I first read them, probably 15 or 20 years ago. Things have changed!
1 review
June 23, 2016
Enjoyable

I enjoyed reading these stories which the quirky humor. The Montana setting makes it stand out a bit from the competition
Profile Image for Susan.
2,457 reviews13 followers
August 25, 2016
Entertaining

I enjoyed this series. It had interesting and fun characters, good mysteries to be solved, and the right amount of geography and history to be entertaining.
Profile Image for Jouette Berardelli.
10 reviews1 follower
November 10, 2016
Quacking good read!

Dust and feathers makes for a fun romp through the trails of Helena. The unlikely pairing of dogs & geese keep you rolling in laughter.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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