The Secrets of Puckerbrush

Puckerbrush #1

by C. Deanne Rowe

The closely guarded secrets of the small town of Puckerbrush have stayed hidden for years until Abigail Stratford comes to town. Once she learns the secrets, will she destroy the lives of the people she has come to care about or will she keep the secrets as those before her. Either way, Puckerbrush will never be the same. Full of small town secrets, friends to lovers, buried secrets, and surprises.

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2020

About the author

C. Deanne Rowe is a bestselling author of small-town romance, romantic suspense, and heartfelt women's fiction. She's published over forty novels across five series — Puckerbrush, Cowboy Temptation, Valley, Shattered Walls, and Stiletto Girls. Thirteen of the novels were with The Stiletto Series alongside the Stiletto Girls.
Her thriller, Manuscript For Murder, was named a finalist in the 2025 MasterClass Write With James Patterson Contest — a milestone in her shift toward suspense alongside the small-town love stories her readers already know her for.
Born in southwest Oklahoma and raised on small-town stories, Deanne has called Iowa home for over thirty years, where she lives with her husband, their two children and spouses, and five grandchildren. Before retiring in 2018 to write full-time, she spent over twenty years at MidAmerican Energy scheduling natural gas on the interstate pipelines — a career, she'll tell you, that taught her plenty about plotting.
These days she writes, plays a little organ, and shares her writing space with Kendell, the rescue French bulldog who joined the family three years ago. Kendell carries on a tradition started by Allie — the teacup toy poodle and undisputed hero who sat through more chapters than Deanne can count.

Reviews

[rhonda granquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun of sorts mystery. Abigail Stratford, a renowned author is sent of assignment to the small town of Puckerbrush to do an article on small town living. Puckerbrush was soon to celebrate their centennial celebration
Abigail met some very interesting characters in Puckerbrush that would become very close to Abigail, including the town sherif.

[Maggie Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Set in a small town, it offers up plenty of secrets to keep you guessing.

[Sharyn McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the whole series - ♥️

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing is simplistic and quite boring. There is no mystery as I figured out the plot early on and skimmed the remainder. The editing is non existent as is the atrocious format. Quite distracting and cheap looking. The need to know she hung her purse n the back of a chair and put her camera on the table twice in 4 pages is ridiculous.

[Martisse Dexter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Ride

Who knew that being a writer would take you to such beautiful places. It made me remember driving through small towns and wondering what it was really like to live there.

[Sarah Clements Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, kept me guessing. Editing and page layout could use updates, but quirky and intriguing. Read it in one evening!

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storyline with likeable characters. My only negative is the editing. This had too many errors.

[Amy Costin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who is Shel?

Quick easy read and I enjoyed it on a free afternoon. But, twice Abigail is mentioned as “ Shel” and that makes me think the editing was not done professionally.