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Her Hometown Detective: A Clean Romance
Can he trust her…
With his heart?
Detective John McTully is drawn to edgy newcomer Faith Fitzpatrick. So when the business owner is accused of a recent vandalism spree, he keeps an open mind. Tully knows he shouldn’t get involved with his prime suspect, but a Fourth of July stakeout leads to romantic fireworks. With the townsfolk stoking his suspicions, can he believe in Faith’s innocence…and trust his own heart?
From Harlequin Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.
With his heart?
Detective John McTully is drawn to edgy newcomer Faith Fitzpatrick. So when the business owner is accused of a recent vandalism spree, he keeps an open mind. Tully knows he shouldn’t get involved with his prime suspect, but a Fourth of July stakeout leads to romantic fireworks. With the townsfolk stoking his suspicions, can he believe in Faith’s innocence…and trust his own heart?
From Harlequin Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 12, 2021
29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 20, 2021
This is a clean romance with a little bit of mystery. I liked this book, but I thought this book was going to be more about the romance. I did not love that this book was more about the small mystery that was going on. I also did not love the characters in this book. I just do not think this was the book totally for me, but I did feel it was a good storyline and enjoyed parts of this book. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Harlequin Heartwarming) or author (Elizabeth Mowers) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
January 9, 2021
This was a great second chance romance. For it was about a love never known between two people. Faith Fitzpatrick had a history caused by a parent not of her making. John Tilly also had a history made by a parent. How each handled it was different. One left, one stayed with its own scars. It made for a very interesting story. I like how this story was written by Elizabeth. For there was a mystery going on and who was behind it will surprise you. Also acceptance comes slowly for Faith because of her past caused by her parent. How the story ends is a surprise and its worth reading. I look forward to the next book in this series. J
June 6, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It was real and honest and had a happy ending. This is the first book I have read by this author and I hope it won't be the last.
Faith had left the town of Roseley in shame and humiliation after her father's arrest. Now, ten years later, she is back with a different last name and a determination to stay. She had learned a lot about herself and was no longer the shy, quiet girl who would just take what came her way. She was going to live her a dream and set up a motorcycle repair shop. She had an edge to her now and she was determined to protect her heart from further heartbreak. Then she saw Tully. She had loved him since she was a freshman in high school but he never knew she existed. . . until now.
John McTully was the town's golden boy. He was good and kind and honest. His integrity as a police officer and detective was unquestioned. He had experienced a lot of heartbreak in his young life and, while he dated, he never let any relationship get serious. It wasn't worth the heartache and disappointment that always came. When he had his first run-in with Faith when she returned to town, he didn't recognize her but was immediately fascinated by her. As their run-ins became more frequent and "electric", he began to question his need to stay away.
This story has mystery, romance, real and raw and painful emotion. Best of all, there is a happy ending and healing. This story was wholesome and clean with a little edge and swoony moments.
I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.
Faith had left the town of Roseley in shame and humiliation after her father's arrest. Now, ten years later, she is back with a different last name and a determination to stay. She had learned a lot about herself and was no longer the shy, quiet girl who would just take what came her way. She was going to live her a dream and set up a motorcycle repair shop. She had an edge to her now and she was determined to protect her heart from further heartbreak. Then she saw Tully. She had loved him since she was a freshman in high school but he never knew she existed. . . until now.
John McTully was the town's golden boy. He was good and kind and honest. His integrity as a police officer and detective was unquestioned. He had experienced a lot of heartbreak in his young life and, while he dated, he never let any relationship get serious. It wasn't worth the heartache and disappointment that always came. When he had his first run-in with Faith when she returned to town, he didn't recognize her but was immediately fascinated by her. As their run-ins became more frequent and "electric", he began to question his need to stay away.
This story has mystery, romance, real and raw and painful emotion. Best of all, there is a happy ending and healing. This story was wholesome and clean with a little edge and swoony moments.
I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.
January 18, 2023
“Starting over” is a popular theme in small town category romances, so that’s where I immediately started looking when I saw this month’s TBR Challenge theme. Her Hometown Detective by Elizabeth Mowers is an entry in Harlequin’s kisses-only Heartwarming line. The characters and storyline are a little outside what I usually see in small-town romances, but they reflect the sorts of folks I actually encounter in small towns and I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
Faith Fitzpatrick grew up in Roseley, Michigan and has come back in search of a fresh start. As a child, her father was involved in a scandal and after being shunned, Faith fled as soon as she could. She’s clearly had a tough time of it in life and now that she’s exiting a bad marriage, she’s coming back to Roseley to try to put her life together. She has cousins there, with whom she is clearly close, and even though she is nervous about her reception in town, she’s found a place where she can afford to start her dream business – and it’s not a cupcake shop.
While trying to find her way in life, Faith discovered a love of motorcycles and the skills to repair them. Roseley is quite rural, but it’s popular with weekenders and summer folks so there’s room for a shop that can help locals and tourists with fixing and detailing their bikes. I did like that the author feeds tidbits about the town economy into the story so that one can see how various businesses fit into Roseley rather than simply expecting them to survive on good vibes and fairydust.
Faith’s nervousness about her new start in life and her wariness of some folks in town feels natural. Even though she’s older and has a new last name, someone’s bound to put it all together at some point, after all. And it doesn’t help that a vandalism spree starts up in Roseley around the time of Faith’s arrival. The incidents at local businesses bring Faith in contact with her long-ago high school crush, John McTully, a local detective.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/tbr-chall...
Faith Fitzpatrick grew up in Roseley, Michigan and has come back in search of a fresh start. As a child, her father was involved in a scandal and after being shunned, Faith fled as soon as she could. She’s clearly had a tough time of it in life and now that she’s exiting a bad marriage, she’s coming back to Roseley to try to put her life together. She has cousins there, with whom she is clearly close, and even though she is nervous about her reception in town, she’s found a place where she can afford to start her dream business – and it’s not a cupcake shop.
While trying to find her way in life, Faith discovered a love of motorcycles and the skills to repair them. Roseley is quite rural, but it’s popular with weekenders and summer folks so there’s room for a shop that can help locals and tourists with fixing and detailing their bikes. I did like that the author feeds tidbits about the town economy into the story so that one can see how various businesses fit into Roseley rather than simply expecting them to survive on good vibes and fairydust.
Faith’s nervousness about her new start in life and her wariness of some folks in town feels natural. Even though she’s older and has a new last name, someone’s bound to put it all together at some point, after all. And it doesn’t help that a vandalism spree starts up in Roseley around the time of Faith’s arrival. The incidents at local businesses bring Faith in contact with her long-ago high school crush, John McTully, a local detective.
This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/tbr-chall...
January 16, 2021
Faith Fitzpatrick has leased a shop in Roseley which she hopes to open before riding season. She’s been away from her hometown following a family scandal for a while now and now she’s back with her cousins Caroline and Trig. Ten years later, she’s back and wants to open her own motorcycle repair and detailing shop. A dream that her ex-husband Kyle has squashed every chance he got.
Detective John McTully on his way to pick up his sister Samantha from the airport has a run-in with Faith at a gas station ⛽️ and at once becomes interested in her. His buddy and fellow police officer Charlie and Tully’s younger sister Samantha won’t stop meddling in his love life and have been trying to get him to settle down. Though Tully dates now and then, he never takes the relationship further.
Faith has always had a crush on Tully back in high school but Tully didn’t re
He later runs into Faith again while investigating a shop whose owner Dolores reported was vandalized. Her tea shop happens to be next door to Faith’s motorcycle shop. 🏍
Meanwhile, someone is still vandalizing shops; two antique shops so far, and Detective Tully and his team are working hard to find the person responsible for the break-ins.
Faith happened to be at the third crime scene because she had a flat tire right at the Gypsy Caravan shop. She goes in to investigate and a local named Rick spotted her and called the police. Later, another locals, CeCe recognizes Faith at her sandwich shop 🥪as Faith Tolbert, daughter of Ray Talbert who swindled some locals out of their life savings and was arrested.
Faith is now a suspect so she tries to clear her name as quickly as possible since she has no intention of skipping town a second time. Besides she has her grand opening to look forward to.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The dialogue was well done, with fun characters, a great sense of community, and a beautiful setting. Looking forward to more books from the author.
Thank you to Elizabeth Mowers, NetGalley, and Harlequin for the ARC of this book.
Detective John McTully on his way to pick up his sister Samantha from the airport has a run-in with Faith at a gas station ⛽️ and at once becomes interested in her. His buddy and fellow police officer Charlie and Tully’s younger sister Samantha won’t stop meddling in his love life and have been trying to get him to settle down. Though Tully dates now and then, he never takes the relationship further.
Faith has always had a crush on Tully back in high school but Tully didn’t re
He later runs into Faith again while investigating a shop whose owner Dolores reported was vandalized. Her tea shop happens to be next door to Faith’s motorcycle shop. 🏍
Meanwhile, someone is still vandalizing shops; two antique shops so far, and Detective Tully and his team are working hard to find the person responsible for the break-ins.
Faith happened to be at the third crime scene because she had a flat tire right at the Gypsy Caravan shop. She goes in to investigate and a local named Rick spotted her and called the police. Later, another locals, CeCe recognizes Faith at her sandwich shop 🥪as Faith Tolbert, daughter of Ray Talbert who swindled some locals out of their life savings and was arrested.
Faith is now a suspect so she tries to clear her name as quickly as possible since she has no intention of skipping town a second time. Besides she has her grand opening to look forward to.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The dialogue was well done, with fun characters, a great sense of community, and a beautiful setting. Looking forward to more books from the author.
Thank you to Elizabeth Mowers, NetGalley, and Harlequin for the ARC of this book.
February 3, 2021
First book I read by this author. I really enjoyed Her Hometown Detective. The story flowed so well. I really liked all the characters and chemistry between all. This won’t be my last book by Elizabeth Mowers.
January 5, 2021
Detective John McTully has been a town favorite since he was a boy and now he protects the town, something he can't do with his own father. When Faith Fitzpatrick comes to town, intent on starting her own business of repairing and detailing motorcycles, John is gob smacked. Who is she--really? And why does so much of the town assume she's just like her father, who defrauded so many of their life savings years earlier?
When vandals attack several store fronts, almost everyone assumes that Faith is the culprit, even after her own store is damaged. She insists on finding the culprit, if only to convince people that she is innocent, but when it's clear that John steps away from the closeness that had been developing between them, Faith knows she should give up her dreams of finding happiness with him.
Then the real culprit confesses and Faith decides to stay in town, but can she ever trust that John will acknowledge how he feels for her? And if he doesn't, what kind of detective does that make him?
When vandals attack several store fronts, almost everyone assumes that Faith is the culprit, even after her own store is damaged. She insists on finding the culprit, if only to convince people that she is innocent, but when it's clear that John steps away from the closeness that had been developing between them, Faith knows she should give up her dreams of finding happiness with him.
Then the real culprit confesses and Faith decides to stay in town, but can she ever trust that John will acknowledge how he feels for her? And if he doesn't, what kind of detective does that make him?
April 6, 2021
Faith doesn’t expect her return to her small hometown to be easy, but she also doesn’t expect to have to face the boy she had a crush on in high school quite so quickly. Or to discover that she might still be fascinated by town golden boy John, now a detective in the local police force.
I didn’t expect to be totally swept into this sweet small-town romance, but I was. Mowers has penned a wonderfully characterized novel that is easily engaging and very enjoyable. As should probably be expected, a lot of the book is about Faith coming to terms with her past, the gossip and expectations of small-town life, and a delightful little mystery subplot with some unexpected twists. The characters are all well-drawn and the town that Mowers builds around them feels almost like you can walk into it. The romance between Faith and John is believable and heart-warming. Mowers is definitely an author to keep an eye on, and this is a great romance for those who enjoy sweet small-town romances.
I was given a copy of this book via Netgalley.
I didn’t expect to be totally swept into this sweet small-town romance, but I was. Mowers has penned a wonderfully characterized novel that is easily engaging and very enjoyable. As should probably be expected, a lot of the book is about Faith coming to terms with her past, the gossip and expectations of small-town life, and a delightful little mystery subplot with some unexpected twists. The characters are all well-drawn and the town that Mowers builds around them feels almost like you can walk into it. The romance between Faith and John is believable and heart-warming. Mowers is definitely an author to keep an eye on, and this is a great romance for those who enjoy sweet small-town romances.
I was given a copy of this book via Netgalley.
February 19, 2021
I really liked this book.
Faith the leading girl, is a character that I liked right from the beginning of the book. Things happened in her life that made her tough and that made her closer her heart to other people but John McTully always had a way to her heart because HE WAS HIS HIGH-SCHOOL CRUSH.
I really enjoyed the story and it really does a great job emerged you into the story and let me tell you, YOU SHIPPED THEM TOGETHER RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
Until the end
Faith the leading girl, is a character that I liked right from the beginning of the book. Things happened in her life that made her tough and that made her closer her heart to other people but John McTully always had a way to her heart because HE WAS HIS HIGH-SCHOOL CRUSH.
I really enjoyed the story and it really does a great job emerged you into the story and let me tell you, YOU SHIPPED THEM TOGETHER RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
Until the end
February 10, 2021
John and Tully are drawn to each other but when she is blamed for something,the detective side of him said that he should stay back. Even though there is alot of talk he is going to keep looking because he is going to find the real culprit regardless. This one will have you follow closely looking for clues because you want them to have a chance.
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March 3, 2021Nominated for a 2021 Swoony Award, to vote click here: https://tinyurl.com/y593ce67
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews