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Calamity Jayne #4
Calamity Jayne Goes to College
Back in college for the fourth time, reporter Tressa Jayne Turner finds her quest for higher education thwarted by a new mystery, a campus criminal, a crazy roommate, a botched betrothal, and a hot guy who wants to save her from herself. Original.
326 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
102 people are currently reading
356 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
September 18, 2019
Another fun adventure with Calamity! You've got to admire her persistence and some of the situations she finds herself in are so funny. I was kept guessing the whole time and the ending was done really well.
July 11, 2018
Does it bother anyone else that through these books Tressa is "self" described as carrying a few extra pounds and battling constantly out of control hair while the cover shows an average to thin girl with straight, tame locks?
"Ace cub reporter" Tressa Jayne enrolls in some Journalism classes with visions of a raise (and better office furniture) and winds up smack in the middle of a campus crime spree. Whodunit and why? Will it be solved before the escalating criminal activity reaches murderous new heights?
These aren't deep, thought-provoking tales, but they are fun and I have no real complaints. Would recommend this series be read in order, but if you were on the fence after book 3, go ahead and pick up #4 here.
"Ace cub reporter" Tressa Jayne enrolls in some Journalism classes with visions of a raise (and better office furniture) and winds up smack in the middle of a campus crime spree. Whodunit and why? Will it be solved before the escalating criminal activity reaches murderous new heights?
These aren't deep, thought-provoking tales, but they are fun and I have no real complaints. Would recommend this series be read in order, but if you were on the fence after book 3, go ahead and pick up #4 here.
October 15, 2025
What a calamity! That can only mean another mad cap caper for Calamity Jayne. There was a lot going on in this book, as Calamity returns to school and in order to get a passing grade goes on a very unusual and fun hunt for a story, as well as planning a hen party. Of course it's never that simple and her love life, family and friends get in the way. The characters are quirky and with the no stop banter and the situations Jayne and her sidekick find themselves in are a hoot. The mystery was unusual in that there was no murder to solve and in fact they knew what crime was going to be committed and it was just a matter of working out who was responsible. Despite the red herrings and all the suspects I had worked out who was responsible but it was a well crafted mystery. Look forward to the next adventure.
Calamity Jayne has to return to school in order for her boss to give her a raise. Having slept her way through school the first time round, working two jobs and helping with her best friends wedding means nothing has changed. In order to pass she has to come with a story. Her cousin is the one to proved her with a story, it seems after covering a crime in his class that crime is then committed that night. Can they convince the professors or law enforcement that it's not a coincidence and there really is something going on? And.more importantly is.the story enough to pass the class? All before.her friends wedding?
Calamity Jayne has to return to school in order for her boss to give her a raise. Having slept her way through school the first time round, working two jobs and helping with her best friends wedding means nothing has changed. In order to pass she has to come with a story. Her cousin is the one to proved her with a story, it seems after covering a crime in his class that crime is then committed that night. Can they convince the professors or law enforcement that it's not a coincidence and there really is something going on? And.more importantly is.the story enough to pass the class? All before.her friends wedding?
September 16, 2025
Calamity Jayne Rides Again
Oh. My. Word. Calamity Jayne is a disaster waiting to happen - a hilarious one! In this, the fourth in the series, she is attending classes in the nearby college in order to get some credits in journalism. While working on a class project in investigative reporting, she stumbles onto a story that could be big for her in both her grade and her part time job at the paper. Her cousin and his girlfriend are taking a class in criminal justice and someone seems to be using the class syllabus to commit crimes. At first they start out small - a little mischief, some theft, etc. but they escalate to sexual assault and murder. Jayne has multiple suspects, but when she finally figures out who it is, it’s almost too late for her and her brother’s girlfriend.
In addition, she’s juggling three men in her life - the cop, the ranger, and the bad boy. And her feisty grandmother. And a car that keeps breaking down.
Jayne is the perfectly imperfect character. Authors are supposed to build characters with flaws and Jayne has a ton of them. The biggest one is her impulsiveness as it gets her into a lot of trouble. The world building/scene setting is well done and the mystery keeps most people guessing. Okay, I knew who it was, early on, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story. Definitely looking for more in this series.
Recommended.
Oh. My. Word. Calamity Jayne is a disaster waiting to happen - a hilarious one! In this, the fourth in the series, she is attending classes in the nearby college in order to get some credits in journalism. While working on a class project in investigative reporting, she stumbles onto a story that could be big for her in both her grade and her part time job at the paper. Her cousin and his girlfriend are taking a class in criminal justice and someone seems to be using the class syllabus to commit crimes. At first they start out small - a little mischief, some theft, etc. but they escalate to sexual assault and murder. Jayne has multiple suspects, but when she finally figures out who it is, it’s almost too late for her and her brother’s girlfriend.
In addition, she’s juggling three men in her life - the cop, the ranger, and the bad boy. And her feisty grandmother. And a car that keeps breaking down.
Jayne is the perfectly imperfect character. Authors are supposed to build characters with flaws and Jayne has a ton of them. The biggest one is her impulsiveness as it gets her into a lot of trouble. The world building/scene setting is well done and the mystery keeps most people guessing. Okay, I knew who it was, early on, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the story. Definitely looking for more in this series.
Recommended.
September 11, 2022
Calamity Jayne and the Campus Caper
Kathleen Bacus has written a wonderfully comedic who done cozey mystery with murder and mayhem leading with a familiar warray of colorful,quirky, vibrant characters that bring mayhem through out add of course a scheming and deadly character that brings you an intriguing mystery to unravel,it's a great mix that will draw you in instantly while the plot carries you throughout keeping you enraptured turning exciting page after exciting page until you arrive at its final climatic reveal. Who caused all the drama and did Calamity Jayne and gang figure things out before it was to late. Acquire " Calamity Jayne and the Campus Caper " today so you yourself can enjoy it as much as I have. 😏🤔🙂😂😃 Kat
Kathleen Bacus has written a wonderfully comedic who done cozey mystery with murder and mayhem leading with a familiar warray of colorful,quirky, vibrant characters that bring mayhem through out add of course a scheming and deadly character that brings you an intriguing mystery to unravel,it's a great mix that will draw you in instantly while the plot carries you throughout keeping you enraptured turning exciting page after exciting page until you arrive at its final climatic reveal. Who caused all the drama and did Calamity Jayne and gang figure things out before it was to late. Acquire " Calamity Jayne and the Campus Caper " today so you yourself can enjoy it as much as I have. 😏🤔🙂😂😃 Kat
October 2, 2023
This is a cozy mystery and delivers what most cozy mysteries do. Funs, laughs, bit of romance, and some evil deeds. I think this book holds up well despite being a little older. If you have read the other books in the Calamity Jayne series, then you will enjoy this one. If you have not read them, this is not a bad intro, but you will miss a lot of the backstory and relationships. Do not start with this book! Go start with #1! Unless you want to be a rebel and then you do you, but I would recommend starting with #1.
September 2, 2021
This one was quite a bit more risque than the previous stories, though not completely over the top.
This book has the familiar characters from the previous books and does spend a bit of time growing the relationships and interactions. The mystery was fun, though I was pretty sure who dun it early on, that did not detract from the story.
This book has the familiar characters from the previous books and does spend a bit of time growing the relationships and interactions. The mystery was fun, though I was pretty sure who dun it early on, that did not detract from the story.
December 12, 2025
excellent!
This girl is so funny! I laughed out loud! I really enjoy the books in this series. I can hardly wait to start the next one! So well written. Great characters. Humor. Mystery. These Calamity Jayne books are the best!
This girl is so funny! I laughed out loud! I really enjoy the books in this series. I can hardly wait to start the next one! So well written. Great characters. Humor. Mystery. These Calamity Jayne books are the best!
January 12, 2017
Finally made it through this book....only to see whodunit. Some parts kept me entertained more than others.
August 8, 2018
Very funny - gets into all kinds of trouble - granny is great. Reminds me of Janet Evanowichs early writing. Hoping books remain FRESH
September 20, 2018
Loved it !
October 29, 2018
I like this one best so far.
May 2, 2020
Boring not worth my time
November 29, 2020
This is another fun roller coaster ride in the life of Tressa a.k.a. Calamity Jayne. If you like the Stephanie Plum, try this series you will love it.
May 6, 2023
A riot!
Super fun to read. Loved the character and it had just enough action with a twist at the end. I enjoyed it
Super fun to read. Loved the character and it had just enough action with a twist at the end. I enjoyed it
January 6, 2026
Laugh out loud humor
This episode of Calamity Jayne had me guessing until the very end. It also had me laughing out loud multiple times.
This episode of Calamity Jayne had me guessing until the very end. It also had me laughing out loud multiple times.
September 23, 2013
Reviewed by Lissa Staley
Posted March 15, 2007
Romance Chick-Lit | Mystery
After an adventuresome summer involving a dead body in her trunk at the Iowa State Fair, Tressa Jayne Turner is heading back to school in nearby Des Moines. She has a love/hate relationship with her carpooling buddies -- she loves her cousin Frankie, but hates his girlfriend Dixie. Since she's a local newspaper reporter, Tressa is taking journalism classes and eager for a great assignment. She's very interested in her friends' criminal law class after Dixie notices an eerie similarity between her lecture notes and a campus crime spree.
Whenever the professor introduces a new offense, the same crime is committed that night on the college campus. Littering and vandalism soon progress towards mugging, hit- and-run and worse. Tressa and her friends cannot convince the local authorities to take the matter seriously, so they take matters into their own hands. Tressa earned her nickname Calamity Jayne by getting into more than her fair share of trouble, but since the next crimes on the syllabus are rape and murder, she and her friends work overtime to find the serial-criminal before it's too late.
Kathleen Bacus lets the personalities of her distinctive characters run free with sharp dialogue and quick-witted introspection. More outlandish than Stephanie Plum, more unorthodox than Nancy Drew and funnier than anything I've read in a long time, this Tressa Jayne Turner chick-lit comedy mystery is a guaranteed good time!
Posted March 15, 2007
Romance Chick-Lit | Mystery
After an adventuresome summer involving a dead body in her trunk at the Iowa State Fair, Tressa Jayne Turner is heading back to school in nearby Des Moines. She has a love/hate relationship with her carpooling buddies -- she loves her cousin Frankie, but hates his girlfriend Dixie. Since she's a local newspaper reporter, Tressa is taking journalism classes and eager for a great assignment. She's very interested in her friends' criminal law class after Dixie notices an eerie similarity between her lecture notes and a campus crime spree.
Whenever the professor introduces a new offense, the same crime is committed that night on the college campus. Littering and vandalism soon progress towards mugging, hit- and-run and worse. Tressa and her friends cannot convince the local authorities to take the matter seriously, so they take matters into their own hands. Tressa earned her nickname Calamity Jayne by getting into more than her fair share of trouble, but since the next crimes on the syllabus are rape and murder, she and her friends work overtime to find the serial-criminal before it's too late.
Kathleen Bacus lets the personalities of her distinctive characters run free with sharp dialogue and quick-witted introspection. More outlandish than Stephanie Plum, more unorthodox than Nancy Drew and funnier than anything I've read in a long time, this Tressa Jayne Turner chick-lit comedy mystery is a guaranteed good time!
April 3, 2009
The 4th book in the Calamity Jayne series. I was a little let down with the 3rd book, but this was a vast improvement. Tressa plays investigator with her cousin, Frankie, and his fiancee, Dixie, who also happens to be Tressa's arch-nemesis. Someone on campus is committing crimes that follow the lectures in one of Frankie and Dixie's classes. Tressa needs a story for her investigative reporting class, so off they go looking for the criminal. The mystery is a little weak to me (I had it figured out pretty early in the book), but it almost seems secondary to all the interactions of the characters.
Tressa's grandmother, Hannah, has some great lines in this one. Oh, and the interaction between Tressa and Rick is heating up, but keeps running into plenty of bumps in the road. Tressa has another wedding to attend--this time as maid-of-honor for her best friend, Kari. Nothing ever seems to work out for Tressa with weddings, so she is not looking forward to it.
Funny book...book 3 was a dip in the series, but it is making its way back up.
Tressa's grandmother, Hannah, has some great lines in this one. Oh, and the interaction between Tressa and Rick is heating up, but keeps running into plenty of bumps in the road. Tressa has another wedding to attend--this time as maid-of-honor for her best friend, Kari. Nothing ever seems to work out for Tressa with weddings, so she is not looking forward to it.
Funny book...book 3 was a dip in the series, but it is making its way back up.
January 24, 2011
There's a crime wave at little Carson college, and the crimes seem to be linked to the criminal justice lectures professor Billings gives. Tressa Jayne Turner, who's taking a few journalism courses there, sees her chance to get an A in a course, and a scoop for the small town paper where she works. Naturally, there's more going on in her life, like three guys who seem interested, one bride's maid gown that may be a little too tight, and a few other problems like that. I'd enjoy this series better of Bacus didn't seem to find it necessary to add a little political opinion here and there. It doesn't move the plot, and it doesn't help with the characterization--no reader could believe that Tressa has a political thought in her head. Maybe Bacus thinks it's cute, but it cost her a star from this reviewer.
November 19, 2016
While fun-loving Tressa, aka Calamity Jane, takes a college class, she stumbles upon a string of campus crimes that gives her the perfect subject matter for a class paper. If she can help solve the crime, she feels certain she will earn a passing grade, as well as a sizzling story to satisfy her boss at the newspaper.
Laugh out loud antics, light romance (though Tressa hasn't dealt with her feelings on the subject and has two eligible males in the wings), and quirky family members (its tough when granny has more dates that Tressa). Each book gets better, but I'm hoping Tressa will grow up soon.
Laugh out loud antics, light romance (though Tressa hasn't dealt with her feelings on the subject and has two eligible males in the wings), and quirky family members (its tough when granny has more dates that Tressa). Each book gets better, but I'm hoping Tressa will grow up soon.
August 1, 2009
calam is going to college so that she can get permanently hired at the newspaper. her cousin frankie and his fiance realize that there are crimes happening on campus that correspond to that day's lesson in their crime class. the three of them set out to solve the story. turns out to be the teacher. pd dawkins likes and kisses calam but lays off in the end because of rick who says he loves calamity. manny dimarcos's aunt is trying to track tressa down as she (aunt mo) thinks tressa and manny are engaged. the end of the book rick is finding out about the engagement.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2013
It took me a while to get into this book; I almost started another book in the middle of this book it took so long. However, I got about halfway into it and realized that I was actually enjoying it more than I expected. I will be reading the next book; this one kind of ended in a cliff hanger!
March 22, 2016
Laugh out loud funny! I enjoy the mystery investigative aspect of these books, however I tend to always pinpoint the troublemakers, however it still is fun finding out the story. There were definitely moments I wanted to yell at Jayne as well as some other characters. Sometimes things really frustrate me, but really I think those things can SOMETIMES add some realism. But other times I just things go too far, if that makes any sense.
January 20, 2013
I am a big fan of Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series. I was really wanting to like this series but I just didn't like Jayne. She is just too annoying for me to enjoy. I guess I'm too old for this series. The book is put together well and the mystery is OK but not spectacular so I'll skip my review on this one.
January 4, 2015
I'm a fan of Stephanie Plum series and Calamity Jane series is just as entertaining. Some people will tell you about the story, but i believe everybody should read the books. The interesting characters and how the story lines move from one book to the next will have you laughing and smiling. I wish I would have found this series earlier.
July 25, 2012
This series is so frustrating sometimes. Manny and his Aunt Mo are killing me. Tressa lying to Rick.... I just want to finish the last two. If it doesn't end with Tressa and Rick happily ever after, I'll be ticked.
October 19, 2024
Calamity goes to college to earn a raise and better office furniture. PD Dawkins and Aunt Mo return. Calamity once again finds herself in a mess. It wouldn't be any fun without Grammy, Joltin Joe and of course, Ranger Rick.
May 6, 2008
Fun, easy read in the series.
January 3, 2010
This has been my favorite of the series so far. These books are just hilarious.
August 16, 2012
My new purse book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews