Loveda Brown: Rattler: The Idyllwild Mystery Series, Prequel

by Jolie Tunnell

In a mystery as twisty as the Rio Grande, Loveda Brown takes a fateful Texas two-step on her journey West and has to hunt down a rattler.Señora Loveda Dunn’s newly found marital bliss is interrupted when she discovers the maid sleeping in the bridal bed instead of making it. A week after dismissing the maid in a flash of fury, Loveda finds the woman dead in the orchard.

The handsome Mr. Dunn would rather she focus on her civic duties in town than the shadowy doings on the rancho, but Loveda follows her suspicions to a discovery that threatens her husband, her town, and her country.

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2024

About the author

Award-winning author Jolie Tunnell brings the past to life in suspenseful historical mysteries. Bringing the flavor of the turn-of-the-century Wild West to the isolated mountain town of Idyllwild and the writhing underbelly of Old San Francisco, her books gallop to the last page.

A Southern California native, she loves on her sprawling family, forces her freeloading tomcat to cuddle, and can drink her weight in Yorkshire Gold tea.

Sign up for her extraordinary newsletter, get a free book, and settle in for a visit at JolieTunnell.com.

Reviews

[Nicolas Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but exciting story that surprisingly fits a lot of world building into a short amount of time. Tunnell does a great job of making the characters feel real, believable, lovable and hatable. As a prequel this book paints the characters well, explaining enough of a backstory to make sense, but not enough to spoil any future discoveries. The mix of true history and fiction brings to life some historical characters in ways that humanize them while making them even more terrifying. Highly recommend the audiobook version, the narrator does an excellent job with the varied voices, tones, and emotions.

[Cathy Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introduction to the Lovers Brown series. The story kept me guessing not only the "who dune it" but how the marriage was going to work out. The author did an outstanding job of intertwining the political and social issues of the time period. At times I felt like I needed the previous book to help understand Loveda's jumping in to solve a mystery with the tenacity of her actions. Even without the information it is a stand-alone book and I was able to grasp what I needed as I moved through. But it did make me intrigued to read the previous books and find out what brought her to this place of being married to this man. Highly recommend the book and I look forward to reading the rest of the series

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving Loveda Brown

Can't wait to read the rest of this exciting series as Loveda finds her way in the world. This second prequel completely surprised me after Loveda Brown: Boston Burglar.

[D.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast-paced prequel gives readers more insight into spunky Loveda Brown's past. Set in old El Paso, the book seamlessly meshes history with mystery. I listened to the audio version, which was well-done by the narrator. A fun read for a summer afternoon!

[Sandra Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

Thoroughly enjoyable, well written book. Loved the female lead and the intermingling with historical fact. Look forward to reading more.

[Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery with engaging characters and a good mix of fact with fiction. Narration on the audio book was easy to listen to.