Rating: 
Summary: A funny romantic drama
Review: After more than two decades of working at a high pressure job at a Chicago advertising agency, Hannah Garvey decides to quit the rat race. She accepts a position as the resident manager for the upscale Missouri retirement community of Valhalla Springs because the place is just beyond Reclusive and in the center of Serenity County. She knows that this job will finally allow her to relax.Her first week on her new job requires Hannah to reassess her thoughts of peace and quiet when someone murders an elderly resident. To her surprise, Hannah finds herself attracted to the head of the homicide investigation, County Sheriff Dave Hendrickson who is seven years her junior. Her being much older disturbs Hannah, but Dave wants to spend quality time alone with her. However, a second murder keeps him busy, especially when the senior citizens turn vigilante. Readers who like their humor served up in an Irma Bombeck style will appreciate the eccentric EAST OF PECULIAR even when the comedy turns occasionally flat. The personalities of the elderly and their actions are a major reason the story line is so enjoyable. Although the romance adds to the fun, this contemporary will appeal to mainstream readers. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: A good start!
Review: Although I did love the characters in this book and the mystery of the deceased old woman...I just wanted to say that readers like me..always has to have something in hand to read..which means a week I could have 7 books finished. This has a sequel..and the romance was slow..the problem is the sequel...it's hard to remember such thing 'specially about a sequel but hey when it comes out I'll try to get it
Rating:
Summary: MILDLY ENTERTAINING
Review: As a light, fun, easy read, you might pick this for a day at the beach. The protaganist, Hannah, is quite droll, the senior citizen brigade of crime fighters, humorous, the sheriff paramour to Hannah, hunky, and the writing intelligent if not brilliant. A murder mystery ensues around a simple plot and alls well that ends well. Better than most of this genre of book, Suzann Ledbetter can be pleased she shines brighter than most of her contemporaries.
Rating:
Summary: MILDLY ENTERTAINING
Review: As a light, fun, easy read, you might pick this for a day at the beach. The protaganist, Hannah, is quite droll, the senior citizen brigade of crime fighters, humorous, the sheriff paramour to Hannah, hunky, and the writing intelligent if not brilliant. A murder mystery ensues around a simple plot and alls well that ends well. Better than most of this genre of book, Suzann Ledbetter can be pleased she shines brighter than most of her contemporaries.
Rating: 
Summary: A Romance Writer Adds a Bit of Mystery
Review: As a voracious mystery-reader I did not find this book very enjoyable. There was an awful lot of cutsy romance novel banter between the main female and male characters which served to make me lower my opinion of their intelligence. I like "cozies" but this was way too wordy. Readers who prefer romances may like this book but mystery readers will have to wade through a lot of unnecessary dialogue to get to the plot. I consider it a mediocre padded genre romance with a fairly original mystery added.
Rating: 
Summary: Peculiar is...
Review: as peculiar does! What a fun read! The denizens of Valhalla Springs are wonderfully real, really wonderful characters. Ms.Ledbetter does a terrific job of imbuing her geriatric characters with off the wall quirks without trivializing them as human beings. One minute you howl with laughter, the next you are deeply touched by the depth of their experiences and emotions. As a single career woman burnt out on corporate america and Mr.Wrongs, I deeply identified with Hannah and her trials..and I'll take the sheriff of her hands anytime!
Rating:
Summary: Peculiar is...
Review: as peculiar does! What a fun read! The denizens of Valhalla Springs are wonderfully real, really wonderful characters. Ms.Ledbetter does a terrific job of imbuing her geriatric characters with off the wall quirks without trivializing them as human beings. One minute you howl with laughter, the next you are deeply touched by the depth of their experiences and emotions. As a single career woman burnt out on corporate america and Mr.Wrongs, I deeply identified with Hannah and her trials..and I'll take the sheriff of her hands anytime!
Rating:
Summary: This book has everything!
Review: East of Peculiar has every thing you need for a perfect beach book, mystery, romance, and humor. I loved the characters, residents of an upscale senior community, and the story was riveting. I only had one problem. The author uses police 10 codes much too frequently. Most people are unfamiliar with them, and those that are probably use an entirely different set. Either insert a glossary or leave them out!
Rating:
Summary: A great Ledbetter
Review: EAST OF PECULIAR is Suzann Ledbetter's first mystery (she is author of a dozen other books including a biography, 10 novels and 2 humor books) and its a funny and involving story set in the Missouri Ozarks, a place the author knows intimately. Readers are going to love Hannah Garvey, the former ad exec in Chicago who throws over that life to manage a retirement home deep in the Ozarkian hills. There is a murder there and Hannah and the local sheriff become involved in the solution to the crime and inevitably become involved with each other. Ledbetter is a terrific character-creator and has a lot of fun, as readers will, with her cast of retirement home characters, all turning amateur sleuths to "help" solve the crime at Valhalla Springs.
Rating:
Summary: Romance, Mystery, Hysterical fun!
Review: East of Peculiar lives up to the title. Hannah, the new resident manager of a mid-west retirement community (and our heroine) is surrounded by peculiar characters and goings-on. Every time things begin to heat up between her and the local sheriff (and younger man!), another murder or robbery or other strange happening seems to interrupt them. Aided (or often impeded) by a band of senior citizen sleuths, Hannah is determined to figure out what's going on in the retirement community for which she is reponsible. And then she can return the sheriff's romantic advances. This book is a great deal of fun. Curl up on the sofa or on the beach and enjoy!
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