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Dudes Rush In
In this entertaining debut novel Lynn Downey takes us back to San Francisco in 1952. Restless war widow Phoebe McFarland decides it’s time to make some changes in her life. She quits her job, bids her surprised friends farewell, and heads south to spend the next six months on her in-laws’ dude ranch in Tribulation, Arizona.
Phoebe has enjoyed multiple vacations at the ranch, loves the desert, and is happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her husband’s sister. In exchange for room and board she will help out in the office, and she hopes to finally finish the novel she is working on. When a group of magazine writers comes to stay, including an attractive single man, Phoebe sees a chance to connect with the professionals.
But Tribulation soon lives up to its name. When Phoebe finds an old diary hidden in her desk, she stumbles onto secrets from the town’s past that collide with a shocking revelation from her own, leading her down a trail to both discovery and danger.
Phoebe has enjoyed multiple vacations at the ranch, loves the desert, and is happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her husband’s sister. In exchange for room and board she will help out in the office, and she hopes to finally finish the novel she is working on. When a group of magazine writers comes to stay, including an attractive single man, Phoebe sees a chance to connect with the professionals.
But Tribulation soon lives up to its name. When Phoebe finds an old diary hidden in her desk, she stumbles onto secrets from the town’s past that collide with a shocking revelation from her own, leading her down a trail to both discovery and danger.
284 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2020
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May 23, 2021After reading Lynn Downey's new debut book “Dude's Rush In” I feel like she had just booked me into a dream vacation at the H Double Bar Dude Ranch in Arizona. Downey brings her knowledge of dude ranches and skills as a research historian to create an engaging historical mystery. The setting, a fictional town of Tribulation was based on her visits to various dude ranches in the surrounding area of Wickenberg, AZ.
The story takes the reader back to San Francisco in 1952, where an aspiring war widow Phoebe McFarland decides it's time to make some changes in her life. With a bold move, she quits her job, bids her friends farewell, and heads south to spend the next six months on her in-laws' dude ranch in Tribulation, Arizona. Phoebe has fond memories of having spent many vacations there. She's happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her husband's sister. In exchange for room and board, Phoebe has volunteered to help out in the ranch's office organizing all the paperwork. She has high hopes with extra free time to finally finish the novel that has been in the works for some time. Soon after her arrival, Phoebe's novel writing is derailed with the discovery of an old diary hidden in a desk. Phoebe's life collides with a young woman, Ellender Shepherd, owner of the diary from decades earlier. She is swept into Ellender's story that captures her early married life and the early growth of the mining town of Tribulation.
As Phoebe stumbles onto secrets from Tribulation's past, unexpected discoveries with a few shocking revelations set her on a dangerous course as she tracks down a variety of clues to solve a few mysteries. Betrayal, greed, redemption, and love make Phoebe and Ellender's stories intriguing. heartwarming and a touching read with an unexpected ending. With two stories running simultaneously throughout the novel I also found myself swept into Ellender's story as secrets and clues began to unravel. Phoebe's story is told in the third person and Ellender's in the first person. Certainly, a clever way to format a story keeping the reader engrossed. You may be asking yourself how would Phoebe's story be different if she hadn't found Ellender's diary?
Downey's meticulous research enhances the story with authentic details. Her vivid descriptions of desert landscape, exterior, and interior of the dude ranch, hospitality offered guests including the dynamics of social hours and dinners, visits into Tribulation and surrounding area effectively capture the ambiance of visiting an Arizona dude ranch back in the early 50s.
The story takes the reader back to San Francisco in 1952, where an aspiring war widow Phoebe McFarland decides it's time to make some changes in her life. With a bold move, she quits her job, bids her friends farewell, and heads south to spend the next six months on her in-laws' dude ranch in Tribulation, Arizona. Phoebe has fond memories of having spent many vacations there. She's happy to have the opportunity to spend time with her husband's sister. In exchange for room and board, Phoebe has volunteered to help out in the ranch's office organizing all the paperwork. She has high hopes with extra free time to finally finish the novel that has been in the works for some time. Soon after her arrival, Phoebe's novel writing is derailed with the discovery of an old diary hidden in a desk. Phoebe's life collides with a young woman, Ellender Shepherd, owner of the diary from decades earlier. She is swept into Ellender's story that captures her early married life and the early growth of the mining town of Tribulation.
As Phoebe stumbles onto secrets from Tribulation's past, unexpected discoveries with a few shocking revelations set her on a dangerous course as she tracks down a variety of clues to solve a few mysteries. Betrayal, greed, redemption, and love make Phoebe and Ellender's stories intriguing. heartwarming and a touching read with an unexpected ending. With two stories running simultaneously throughout the novel I also found myself swept into Ellender's story as secrets and clues began to unravel. Phoebe's story is told in the third person and Ellender's in the first person. Certainly, a clever way to format a story keeping the reader engrossed. You may be asking yourself how would Phoebe's story be different if she hadn't found Ellender's diary?
Downey's meticulous research enhances the story with authentic details. Her vivid descriptions of desert landscape, exterior, and interior of the dude ranch, hospitality offered guests including the dynamics of social hours and dinners, visits into Tribulation and surrounding area effectively capture the ambiance of visiting an Arizona dude ranch back in the early 50s.
June 10, 2022
Historical cozy mystery in an authentic Western setting.
Historian Lynn Downey uses her knowledge of the West and especially dude ranches to create an authentic Western setting for her debut novel. The details and imagery shine.
The premise is intriguing with a nice mystery to it that entwines Phoebe and Ellender's timelines. Things really get exciting in the last few chapters, though I would have liked to see the murder plot twist come in sooner.
The dialogue is a bit wordy (lots of information being conveyed), and Phoebe spends a lot of time reading and reflecting upon Ellender's lengthy diary entries. I think the pacing would have benefited from shorter chapters, perhaps separating the two narratives. Some of what transpired seemed irrelevant to the overall story.
Despite a little lag in the middle, the novel has a thematically satisfying conclusion with Phoebe finding the purpose/identity that she'd felt lacking at the beginning.
Historian Lynn Downey uses her knowledge of the West and especially dude ranches to create an authentic Western setting for her debut novel. The details and imagery shine.
The premise is intriguing with a nice mystery to it that entwines Phoebe and Ellender's timelines. Things really get exciting in the last few chapters, though I would have liked to see the murder plot twist come in sooner.
The dialogue is a bit wordy (lots of information being conveyed), and Phoebe spends a lot of time reading and reflecting upon Ellender's lengthy diary entries. I think the pacing would have benefited from shorter chapters, perhaps separating the two narratives. Some of what transpired seemed irrelevant to the overall story.
Despite a little lag in the middle, the novel has a thematically satisfying conclusion with Phoebe finding the purpose/identity that she'd felt lacking at the beginning.
January 10, 2021
This debut novel takes us back to 1952 Arizona, the heyday of Dude Ranches, when war widow Phoebe McFarland leaves her settled life in San Francisco to spend six months on her in-laws' ranch. Her discovery of a diary from the First World War years sets her on the path of a mystery and her own rebirth. The story is packed with engaging characters, plot twists, and memorable settings, and Phoebe is a smart and likeable heroine. Downey was the archivist for Levi Strauss, Co. and her skills as a researcher show in this page-turner of a historical novel.
April 12, 2021
What a wonderful read! While the main character, a writer named Phoebe, spends some months helping her sister-in-law run her dude ranch in Arizona, she discovers an old and hidden diary of a woman from the past named Ellender who once lived in the area. She's taken away by the history and mystery of its story, and it becomes something she can't stop investigating. If you're looking for a mysterious tale within a western setting, you can live vicariously through the lives of these two women. A real page-turner!
February 25, 2021
Post-WWII life, love, risk-taking, friendships, and everything else that makes reading historical fiction (set in Dude Ranch Arizona) a whole bunch of fun!!
I really love Phoebe-the-heroine, who cuts her own path toward happiness after the death of her husband in WWII. And also LOVE the setting.
Reading DUDES RUSH IN makes me want to book a trip to a Dude Ranch. Circa 1950's, of course. Looking forward to Book 2 :)
I really love Phoebe-the-heroine, who cuts her own path toward happiness after the death of her husband in WWII. And also LOVE the setting.
Reading DUDES RUSH IN makes me want to book a trip to a Dude Ranch. Circa 1950's, of course. Looking forward to Book 2 :)
May 1, 2021
This was really a fun read!! How could anyone resist a dude ranch setting in the early fifties? The main character, Phoebe, finds a diary from 1910, and as she reads it becomes increasingly fascinated by the writer, a woman named Ellender. In digging into the history of the town of Tribulation and trying to discover more about Ellender, Phoebe embarks on her own adventure, healing her aching heart in the process.
February 27, 2021
This is a fun read with a beautiful setting--a dude ranch in the 1950s. Phoebe gets a job working at her sister-in-law's dude ranch in Arizona, where she finds an old journal. The story of the woman in the journal is as compelling as Phoebe's search for direction after her husband's death. Dudes Rush In is lighthearted and fun. You'll want to read it in one sitting.
June 14, 2022
Who doesn't like Arizona, dude ranches, and mysteries? Not to mention women trying to heal from heartache. This is excactly what you'll get in Dudes Rush In when Pheobe shows up at the H Double Bar and finds a woman's diary from 1910. This is a fun read from an author who knows her history and the Arizona landscape.
October 24, 2021
Pleasant Surprise
When I down loaded this book I was expecting a light romance novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a suspenseful mystery as well as a sweet romance. It is very entertaining. I enjoyed it very much.
When I down loaded this book I was expecting a light romance novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a suspenseful mystery as well as a sweet romance. It is very entertaining. I enjoyed it very much.
August 31, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and would give it 3.5 stars if I knew how to give a half-star. I loved the setting at a dude ranch in Arizona in the 1950s. It was a fun, fast read with likeable, interesting characters and a good story. I liked the author's writing style; her descriptions were very good and her dialogue believable. My only criticism is that in one or two instances she forced her main character to act in an unrealistic way in order to accommodate the plot. Still, I would read another book by this author again, especially if it had another fun setting.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews