Dance of the Winnebagos - Jackrabbit Junction Humorous Mystery Novel | Funny Small-Town Crime Story | Perfect for Mystery Lovers & Book Club Discussions

I don't write reviews very often but felt the need to add my two cents about this book. I loved Claire, she was an intelligent, feisty, and good humored (she had to be to put up with those dirty old men :-) main character. I will say this book might not be for everyone. The grandpa and his cronies are very crude, but they are harmless. This story takes place in a little hole in the wall "town" in Arizona. I grew up in a small town and let me tell you-life is a little different in a small town and I found these characters very true to life-a little rude and crude but deep down they were good people. So if you can't deal with a group of dirty old men talking a lot of innuendo and stupid male humor then this book isn't for you. BUT HOPEFULLY that does not deter you because this story is really worth reading! It's just a good story that has all the elements- there is mystery and intrigue, a budding romance filled with sexual tension-but that's just part of the story, and the characters are true to life and funny. It was refreshing that it wasn't the same worn out story line that I have been reading. It wasn't some damsel in distress book and the hunky hero who saves the day. Claire could fend for herself quite well and Mac was not a cop or other kind of "protector", he was -I think the term was geotechnician- or something like that. You'll have to read the book if you don't know what that is :-)One of the reviews I read before reading this book that talked about Claire and her character t-shirts and how they felt it was childish. I didn't feel that way at all, that's part of Claire's charm.The interaction between Ruby and her teenage daughter-ah that brings back memories of my youth! Even the card playing brings back memories of playing cards with my family-all older than me by a few decades- and the banter that went with it- I remember my great grandpa would get mad and start hollering you gosh darn (not the actual words used) sandbagger! To me that wasn't really a distraction from the story line, it helped bring the characters and the town to life. Also knowing that this is the first book in a series makes it that much more important to really set the scene for future books. All of the characters were thought through in great detail and the writing style and dialogue made for an easy read. Sometimes I get caught up in other writers who feel the need to see how many adjectives they can use in a sentence and then I have to re-read a paragraph just to remember where I was before the words side-tracked me from the story. I really liked all of these characters. I just finished this book and have already downloaded books number 2 and 3 in the Jackrabbit Junction series. I'm really looking forward to number 3-just based on the title it sounds hilarious, but I have to read number 2 first-I think I will be up late tonight reading!