Calamity Jayne

Calamity Jayne #1

by Kathleen Bacus

Tressa Jayne Turner has had it up to here with the never-ending string of dumb-blonde jokes and her longtime nickname. Crowned "Calamity Jayne" by Iowa Department of Natural Resources officer Rick Townsend, Tressa's out to gain a little hometown respect --or die trying. Unfortunately for Tressa, that may be the case. She's just been handed the perfect opportunity to get "Ranger Rick," the doubting Don Juan of the DNR, and a skeptical citizenry to finally take her seriously. How? By solving a murder no one else believes happened...No one, that is, except the killer.

Yup, Calamity Jayne is in it up to her hot pink snakeskin cowgirl boots and matching rhinestone belt. Tressa would tell you her momma never raised no dummies, but the jury's still out on that one.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction

326 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Nola Arganbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

A great chick lit cozy! The characters are extremely well developed and a strong plot that is well thought out make this a satisfying book. The story flowed well. A 5 star first of a series that I am anxious to enjoy more of.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I thought Tressa "Calamity" Jayne Turner was a great character. The author knew her inside and out so her voice was very strong - and extremly funny. There were many moments where I laughed out loud at Tressa's view on life and her place in it. Naturally a person jumps to compare this type of book (i.e. first person/witty/funny/crime solving heroine with a hot guy she loves/hates) with Janet Evanovich. Surprisingly I felt this book stacked up quite well because Tressa was a character so full of personality and life, and the plot well thoughtout and interesting. The male lead, Ranger Rick Townsend, was no Morelli but seriously folks, we all know there can only be one Morelli. I think the author laid some great ground work for the budding romance between Tressa and her older brother's best friend (and her childhood nemisis), Ranger Rick. The plot itself is a murder mystery with wannabe reporter, Tressa, trying to solve the case with the help of some good supporting characters. There are enough twists and turns to kept things interesting, I did however feel the author wrapped everything up very quickly in the end but not to the extent where it affected my enjoyment of the book. This book did lack a bit in the romance department but it had enough sexual tension between the leads to keep me coming back for more. I'm looking forward to the second installment. This is worth a read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun to read, mainly because it made me laugh out loud so often! The first-person narrator, Tressa Jayne Turner, is on a seemingly hopeless mission to get rid of her nickname Calamity Jayne, which has dogged her since middle childhood, but she just keeps living up to that public image. She'd be an ideal role for a young Lucille Ball.

And her worst nemesis from that childhood, Ranger Rick Townsend, now a fish-and-fowl officer for the Iowa Division of Natural Resources, does his best to keep that nickname alive all over Knox County, where Tressa is managing to hold down two jobs at a discount chain store and at her uncle's ice cream place. But then a nicely puzzling murder mystery starts, and Rick shows a kinder face, one that goes well with Tressa's heartwarming relationships with her two faithful dogs and her horse.

What happened? Driving home late one evening from her Bargain City job, Tressa gets a flat tire way out in the countryside. She pops the trunk lid, and there's the body of Peyton Palmer, lawyer, with a bullet hole in his head. In the glove box is an envelope with $10,000 in cash. She runs down the road for help, and Ranger Rick shows up. (Hmm.) They go back to the car, and the body and the money are gone. But instead of making her the butt of another joke, Rick holds her tenderly and tells her she'll be okay, shock and fear do funny things to your mind, etc.

This sets Rick up, of course, as the Romantic Lead for the series, in the variant of enemy-to-lover that we might call ridiculer-to-protector, but if you were hoping for romance in addition to humor and suspense, all you'll get in this first book are a couple of kisses.

Tressa's desperate to be taken seriously, so she sets out to solve the crimes that nobody believes happened. All sorts of shenanigans ensue, and the editor in me would have shortened the book by maybe 40 pages to tighten it up. The puzzle pieces do start to come together after a while (a second murder helps with that), corruption is brought into the open, Tressa gets real threats, and she brings off the final surprise.

There is one trigger warning, though. As warnings to Tressa, cruel things are done to her family's cat and her own horse. For that, and because the story dragged a little and the comedy wore a bit thin in places, I'll give this 3.5 stars. Rounded up happily for Rick's grandfather Joe who teams up with Tressa saying, "I'm the Green Hornet and you're my Kato." He was a hoot.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

After discovering a body in her car, a body that immediately disappears Jayne finds herself once again the butt of all jokes. But she knows there is a dead body out there somewhere and if there is a body there must also be a killer.

She sets about investigating the murder in the hope that people will finally take her seriously.


I'm not really sure. The author is trying to write a snappy and snarky comic mystery novel but it's a little too much and it only works half of the time. It's also a debut and honestly I can't be too critical of a first effort so I might reserve final judgement until I've read another book in the series.

[L.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

FUNNIEST book I've read in a along time. I loved the way her thought processes worked, her ineptitude, the characters around her and of course the story.

Lots of unexpected moments that were laugh out loud funny. I have to admit I had a hard time putting it down, once I got in to reading it.

Very pleasant way to spend a few hours. Can't wait to check out some of the others

[Joanne Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janet Evanovich called, and she wants Stephanie Plum (er, Tressa "Calamity" Jayne Turner) back. Nevermind, Kathleen Bacus can keep her. Um, cute 20-something with crazy wild hair, 2 dead end jobs, crazy grandma, lackluster love life-turn love triangle, and shoe fetish finds a dead body in her trunk, but no one believes her once the body goes missing. Ranger Rick Townsend, her older brother's best friend and arch nemesis makes a good love interest, but the story is more dead body/mystery than romance. Some good snarky dialogue, but it took a bit to get into the writing style--lots of down-home cowgirl hyperbole. I read this, the third, and the final book (that makes 3) in the series over the course of a week, so I'd count it as lightweight and diverting, and leaving you wanting more. I think the author won a new-writer contest with this book...and if you get into the characters in the first book, the last two are better. I thought the last book was best of the three I read. (And unlike Stephanie Plum, you get some closure on that triangle).

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery that is very fun. Calamity Jayne as a character is hilarious!

[Christina T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book but doesn't live up to it's marketing label. It was supposed to be a contemporary romance but honestly other than some love/hate name calling banter and a couple of smooches there wasn't much romance. It was more of a mystery but a weak one at that. I think the saving grace was that there were a few characters I loved. I loved the "hero's" grandpa who informed Tressa (aka Calamity Jayne) that he was the Green Hornet and she was his Kato and just needed to drive. This was before he pulled out a gun that would impress Dirty Harry for their protection which ended up stolen and used to murder a murderer.
I didn't like Bacus's way of wrapping up the mystery either. She builds up a somewhat suspenseful scene where the killer realizes Tressa is on to him/her and Bacus tries to continue the suspense by saying things like The Killer stared at Tressa. The Killer smiled a cold evil grin. So not identifying the killer during the big stand off for a a bit which I thought was a bit over kill and didn't make the mystery better. However, like I said there were some great (well, at least interesting) characters so I gave this book a 4 star rating and will read the next one. Oh and the blonde jokes peppered through the book were fun too.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tressa "Calamity Jayne" Turner is well named. Trouble follows her around like a lost puppy. She's the butt of jokes in town and even after finding a dead body in her trunk, which promptly disappears, and after she is threatened again and again, absolutely no one believes her. Well Tressa's had enough and takes matters into her own hands investigating the body found in her car.

I found her efforts amusing and blonde or not, she wasn't half bad at her new job. I liked Rick Townsend and new immediately that at some point, they will be an item. The antagonistic attitude between them, the name calling, the blonde jokes etc. all point to repressed sexual feelings. It'll be fun to join them in further adventures and see where the relationship goes.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suggested by some friends who knew I loved Janet Evanovich's Plum series. Clamity is kinda like the mid-west Steph. From start to finish Kathy is a great writer and I fell in love with this series! The laughing out loud won't stop until you finish book 6!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephanie Plum with cowgirl boots, hot pink cowgirl boots. Tressa Jayne Turner is a cowgirl in Iowa, she's not a ranch hand but she's had a string of career disasters and is now working at a Wallmartish store as a clerk and a Dairy Queenish restaurant as an order taker, before she gets involved in a murder or three. If you like the Stephanie Plum series you'll enjoy the humor in this series and this first book also has a decent mystery.

[Rachel-RN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoilers and a rant.

Tressa is also known as Calamity because she is clumsy and a bit like the village idiot. She also lacks ambition and doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. I wanted to like her, I did. But, really? How can someone be so TSTL? Some clumsiness, is fine, but Tressa is extreme. Very extreme. She takes the WRONG car. She talks about how broke she is, but does she save money? Hell no! "Hey a girl can go without eating, but she must have a new pair of shoes at least monthly." She doesn't lock her car and has a gun stolen out of the glove box. She STILL doesn't lock her car and Joe surprises her from the backseat. I had to rant to my husband about this one. The envelope that was missing and she swore she didn't have- being in her work VEST the whole fucking time!
I also strongly disliked the love interest, Rick, or as Tressa calls him, Townsend. Rick is the one who came with the Tressa's nickname Calamity. He is the first one to suggest she was imagining a dead body. He clearly thinks she's an idiot. Sorry no. Tressa deserves better than that jackass. Manny had the perfect nickname for Rick: "Rick the Dick."

So why did I keep reading? I liked the writing. I thought it was humorous, I admit to laughing out load a few times. I kept hoping, hoping Tressa would just stop being such an idiot. And easily distracted by a hot body. She does get a little better. I thought- maybe- a little- of her aimlessness/stupidity was just an act. Maybe? The secondary ones were fun- Joe and Hannah!
I won't be reading the next. I really don't like either main character - for different reasons.
And then at the very end of the book:
"Enjoyed this book? Please leave a positive review and a 5 star rating on Amazon.com."
So, if I didn't like it, don't review it? Leave a rating? Only 5 star ones count? Excuse me?
I was thinking a 3*, because it kept me entertained and as I said above, I liked the writing. But now, after that? It's a 2.
Ripped Bodice Bingo: Damsel in Distress

[SalScamander · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know normally I really hate stupid characters that lack intelligence, but this time I actually kind of liked her. Ok I did find her a little irritating, but she seemed nice enough. Her stupidity actually worked well with the story, and I thought the story and plot was written out well enough. I actually enjoyed reading this book and thought it was really good. I didn't like Rick so much, even if he was one of the good guys. He was a bit of a jerk to her, and I kind of felt sorry for Jayne at times, the way he treated her. I liked his Grandad Jo I think his name was though. He was funny and fun to read for an old timer. I do like a good cozy mystery, this one was the second book in the killer fun: cozy mystery book that I'm reading, which is a collection of cozy mysteries. This book had me laughing out loud at some moments and exciting at other moments, and other emotions. It was definitely a good read.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago, great start to a fun series.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this!! I was reading parts during my breaks at work and keep laughing out loud. People stopped in to ask what was so funny. I adored Tressa "Calamity" Jayne and Ranger Rick. Great mystery, too. Will definitely be reading the next in series soon!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

first off- apparently there is a different cover for the e book and paperback--- and you thought your luck was bad --- when i think calamity jayne i think doris day- -the only reason i started reading this book is because we will be discussing it at book club---- well happy to say i loved it --- so Jayne being so tired from working 2 jobs back to back to pay the bills gets into the wrong car- hey it started up- first finds thousands of dollars in her glove compartment - and then gets a flat tire out in the middle of nowhere- so she pops open the trunk to change the tire and --- she finds the dead body of a sleazy attorney --- not being stupid she gets the hell out of dodge and gets help- when she and brothers best friend her secret crush and high school nemesis hunky ranger rick return to the car- the body and cash are gone- - as she and rick are looking through the car and around it a deputy pulls up and we find - - it is the wrong car- seems disaster and accidents follow our gal so much that she has the nickname calamity jayne -- she goes down to the police station but no one believes what she says happened - think maybe she imagined it-- anyway as the week goes on - she is threatened by a thug- her home is trashed- her grandma cat almost hung- her sisters car is vandalized she finds yet another body - but still the only person who sees to think the attorney is dead is jayne and the killer -- but hold on seems ranger ricks grandpa also thinks some going on and becomes her partner trying to find out just what the hell is going on in their town-- there are lots of dumb blonde jokes in the story and a lot of the town folk as well as her family tease her in a good natured way but Tressa Jayne wants to solve the crimes and prove that this so called dumb blonde is not dumb at all - will she find the killer before she becomes the next victim-? is ranger rick more then just an annoyance? this book had me almost guessing to the end- and laughing out loud - i loved the rapid banter between rick and jayne and the smoldering romance that seems to have started with them -- hoping it ignites in the next book - which i plan on reading since i enjoyed this quirky cozy mystery

[Jessica Sinn (Books and Trouble) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throw in two parts Nancy Drew, one part Lucille Ball, add a dash of Stephanie Plum, shake it all up and you’ve got a one-of-a-kind amateur sleuth with a penchant for junk food and hot-pink snakeskin cowgirl boots. Tressa Jayne Turner (who begrudgingly answers to “Calamity Jayne”) is lovingly known around her small Midwestern town for being a magnet to mischief and mayhem.

Calamity is fed up with dumb-blonde jokes and sets forth on a mission to give her nickname an overhaul by replacing “Calamity” with “Ace Reporter Extraordinaire.”

The fair-haired protagonist haphazardly finds herself in the middle of a high-profile mystery when she discovers the corpse of an accused drug smuggling lawyer in her trunk. When the corpse disappears, she (once again) becomes the laughing stock of the town. Fueled with frustration and anger, Calamity sets out to solve the crime and to finally earn some much deserved R-E-S-P-E-C-T. What better way to make a name for herself than by single-handedly solving a mystery and writing about it as an ace-cub reporter for The Gazette?

Bacus’s laugh-out-loud mystery/romance/comedy novel, complete with heart-pounding romantic encounters and small-town charm, is a cozy read filled with eccentric characters and quick-witted dialogue. My only qualm about this cozy read is the lackluster mystery plot. Readers can easily finger the culprit when they reach the halfway point. However, the veritable smorgasbord of richly developed characters, especially Calamity’s feisty elderly crime-fighting sidekicks, make up for the story’s predictable ending.

It seems apparent readers just can’t get enough of this kind-hearted, frizzy-haired amateur sleuth. Calamity Jayne is the first installment in Kathleen Bacus’s series: Calamity Jayne Rides Again, Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun and Calamity Jayne Goes to College.

If you’re interested in a light beach read, pick this one up. A word to the wise: if you’re prone to laughing out loud when reading funny books, try not to read Calamity Jayne when you’re sandwiched between two sleeping passengers on an airplane…sometimes we learn these things the hard way.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of me doesn't know what to think of this book. While I understand there's supposed to be a humorous element to Tressa's wacky hijinks, a big part of me wished she'd been able to stick it to her family for treating her so... I don't quite know how to put this... uncaringly. Maybe. Not that they don't love her, but she's constantly compared to her sister and it was a little painful to watch. The only time I got the feeling that anyone noticed how all the comparisons got her down was at her sister's birthday when Rick seemed to see her. Which he then walked all over by making her accidentally use her catastrophic powers of destruction to pull a table cloth off a table and ruin the meal.

Not that I didn't enjoy the book. I did. Tressa's stick-to-it attitude when it came to standing by what she had seen (a dead body in the trunk!) amused me. The fact that NO ONE took her seriously (because she's CALAMITY JAYNE and she probably imagined it!) was kind of freaky. Rick just confused me. It's almost like he doesn't know what to think of this potential relationship blossoming between them so he kept running hot and cold.

I did enjoy Tressa deciding to take control of her life. She didn't necessarily do it gracefully, but she found what she wanted and marched into the newspaper office to present her case. And then she followed through.

I was amused. I wasn't amused. I'd read the next in the series if the opportunity presented itself. DO YOU SEE HOW CONFUSED I AM HERE?

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like mysteries with entertaining comical writing so I had high hopes for this book.

The description implies that it will appeal to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum fans. I like that series ... this is a Stephanie Plum wannabe.

I really wanted to like this book. The author tried hard to be funny and sarcastic ... but I found at times that she tried too hard. She did a lot (a lot!!) of comparing. Here are some examples so you know what I mean ...

It would be all over town quicker than the flu after Christmas vacation.

The police were moving slower than the line at the drive-up bank on a sweltering Friday afternoon at quitting time

The police had rejected my theory faster than Darva Conger rejected her who-wants-to-marry-a-millionaire.

These are some examples just over a couple pages. It happened all the time and I found this writing style annoying.

I liked Tressa but thought she got away with a lot in her desire to solve this mystery. The interactions between her and "Ranger Rick", her potential love interest, were really juvenile (they are in their 20s). I liked Gramma and Grandpa Joe, though.

Despite all this, I kept reading.

Then I got to the ending, which I didn't buy ... I kinda went "huh ... are you serious?" So after all that, I was let down by the ending.

I won't be rushing out to read any more in this series.

Blog review: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2011/05...

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tressa annoyed the shit out of me in this book. She’s tired of her dumb blonde reputation and we see a couple of times the impact of having everyone think she’s a twit has on her. But those moments are really only quick glimpses and it only happened twice in the book. What really annoyed me is that instead of dropping the dumb blonde routine and finding a direction in life she takes up an insane quest to find the killer of a local lawyer to prove herself. That would’ve been all fine and dandy considering that it is a mystery novel. But what bothered me was the fact that she didn’t really prove herself at all. She didn’t even solve the case in the end. Clues and dead people where just thrown at her and she tripped haphazardly over them and had to have Ranger Rick save her. Her clumsiness was another thing that really started to annoy me. It was taken to the extreme and so the entertainment of it wore off really quick.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in Kathleen Bacus' A Tressa Jayne Turner Mystery or Calamity Jayne series. Tressa Jayne Turner aka Calamity Jayne is working two jobs and living next door to her parents and going nowhere. Ranger Rick doesn't help any with his blonde jokes and his constantly annoying her. Then one night she leaves work and has a flat and discovers a bunch of money in her glovebox and a dead body in the truck. But no one believes her and she must take on the investigation herself.

It did remind me of the Stephanie Plum series written by Janet Evanovich. The same type of humor. I felt Calamity Jayne had a bit more of the "romance" element going but there was not a HEA (Happily Ever After) at the end. More of the HFN (Happily For Now). But this is apparently a series so it makes sense.

[Margaret Standafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calamity Jayne is the start of a series introducing Tressa Jayne Turner, aka Calamity Jayne to those familiar with her penchant for stumbling into trouble. When Tressa mistakenly drives the wrong car home from work , finds a dead body in the trunk, and when that body mysteriously disappears, the stage is set for her foray into sleuthing. Tressa's family and friends provide a bevy of likable, fun characters and provide lots of laughs along the way. Add Ranger Rick, Tressa's brother's best friend and her life-long nemesis/crush into the mix and you have the makings of a charming story. There's some mystery, some flirtatious banter (but no sex), and plenty of sticky situations to keep the story moving quickly. Get to know Calamity Jayne!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tressa Jayne Turner has the unfortunate ability to draw trouble to her like an Acme magnet in the hands of Will E. Cyote. She also has been saddled with the unfortunate nick-name of "Calmity Jane". Terea stumbles onto a dead body and a whole lot of money when she mistakenly manages to drive off in the wrong car (in her defense she drives a K car and so was the one she drove off in, so her keys worked) and gets herself in the cross hairs of a drug ring,bikers,an elderly gentleman who fancies himself to be like the Green Hornet, and a possible romance, all while selling elctronic equipment, making ice cream cones, and working as a part-tme reporter in Iowa... very funny.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this comedy/murder mystery. I liked the humor. Calamity Jayne is a great character who is determined and fun in spite of her propensity for disaster. She keeps discovering bodies, but no one believes there was a crime committed in the first place. The book is filled with blonde jokes and silly circumstances. It reminded me a little of the slap-stick romance comedy movies of the 1930's. There are murders, but they aren't graphic. It was a fun read. I can't wait to find the next one in the series.

[Audra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like this book. Enjoyed the humor,romance and the mystery. I found myself laughing out loud while reading. The book was fast paced and poor "calamity jane", just can't keep herself out of trouble. The small town thinks Calamatiy is as dimwitted as they come no matter how hard she tries to prove them wrong. I look forward to reading other books by this author especially if she keeps up her humor!

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was freaking hilarious! Kind of a small midwestern town blonde Stephanie Plum type... and hi-jinks ensue. Greatly enjoyable. Made me laugh out loud multiple times. And at the bargain price of free on Amazon kindle... you can't get a better deal than that! I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

[LLona Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Cozy Mysteries I've read in a while. Love the Protagonist and following her through this adventure. Plenty of humor without getting silly (that's a special skill not always found in this genre), good character building, and good mystery to solve. I will be looking for more if this is a series.

[LLona Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Cozy Mysteries I've read in a while. Love the Protagonist and following her through this adventure. Plenty of humor without getting silly (that's a special skill not always found in this genre), good character building, and good mystery to solve. I will be looking for more if this is a series.

[ACG · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book/series is kind of like the Midwestern version of the Stephanie Plum books -- not quite as violent, not quite as fast-paced, not quite as sarcastic. There's even a from-childhood-love-interest (although it's brother's best friend rather than the neighborhood playboy).

[Lutitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book abundantly. I was suprised at several twist and loved the banter bewteen the characters. I look foward to reading the other books about Calamity Jayne