Full Circle

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read!
Review: A friend gave me this book for Christmas, and I loved it! The characters were rich and the plot kept me guessing until the end. I look forward to more books about the town, Pearl, by Pat Browning!

Rating:
Summary: Pat Browning and John Steinbeck
Review: Author Pat Browning's literary hero was John Steinbeck, who won the Nobel Prize for literature. Her esteem for him and her careful study of his style is reflected in the characterization of her heroes, heroines and villains. The book reads well and is worth reading for its ties to the master.

Rating:
Summary: Browning Strikes Gold
Review: Browning turns the mystery of the Wild West into modern day mayhem. Transforming Penny Mackenzie from a lackadaisical reporter to a new age Calamity Jane with style, grace, and downright stubbornness. Pat Browning strikes gold with this new series. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next!

Cindy Daniel, author of DEATH WARMED OVER--COMING SOON
October 2003/Quiet Storm Publishing

Rating:
Summary: A delightful read
Review: Currently a resident of California's Central San Joaquin Valley, Pat Browning is a former school teacher and award-winning journalist. Full Circle, her debut novel, is a cozy written in a small town setting that is her familiar backdrop.

In Full Circle we are introduced to thirty-something veteran small town reporter, Penny Mackenzie. Penny and her friend and co-reporter, Maxie, are beginning to think that life is pretty dull in Pearl, California, until they stumble across a skeleton in the middle of Digger Pott's cotton field. Maxie sees the discovery as a career move; Penny isn't too sure:

"Maxie blew out her breath, panting like a dog. Aren't you even curious?' It's a job for the cops. I just want a bubble bath and my bed.' Sheesh...come on, Cinderella, let's see how fast this pumpkin will go.' She spun the Saturn off the gravel shoulder onto the road and turned it toward town. As we sped through darkened, tree-lined streets, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift to headlines. REPORTERS TELL BIZARRE TALE...nah... COTTON FIELD GIVES UP SKELETON, GOLD NUGGETS...POLICE BAFFLED...big deal."

Pat Browning paces this comfortable, character-driven cozy as skillfully as any writer around. Penny Mackenzie is self-deprecating and likeable, as well as intelligent and humorous. Her amateur sleuth work is at once logical and totally entertaining, even as she rekindles the love of her life, in the person of Watt Collins, dream guy extraordinaire.

Browning reminds us that there is more to character than a pretty exterior, and makes us laugh while she delivers an updated cozy that is as believable as it is whimsical. In Browning's world, life imitates art, and good guys do sometimes finish first. Browning's writing is a welcome addition to the world of mystery cozies fans love to read. She is romantic, funny, and very clever. Her characters are easy for the reader to bond with. Even her most diabolical villains possess earthy hobbies, which directly contribute to the plot. A delightful read.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Escape to a Small California town
Review: For a first novel, Full Circle does a wonderful job of blending action and atmosphere, suspense and romance. Descriptions are crisp and absorbing. By page two, you will feel you are walking the streets of Pearl. Events...and accidents...follow in rapid, but orderly fashion. But are they accidents? Only the lab reports know for sure. And romance? Well, the hero's name is Watt, and let's just say he has more voltage than a uranium powered turbine.

Rating:
Summary: full circle a penny mckenzie mystery series
Review: I loved the book. There may be a little prejudice in that statement, since Pat was one of my favorite classmates at Moss high school in Oklahoma. I liked the story line. I loved the fresh comments and her style of writing. The only problem I had with the book, and that can be blamed on my short term memory, was so many characters in the beginning for me to remember. I had not seen nor heard from this lovely lady in a number of years until she began publishing. Pat, I loved your book and wish you multitudes of sucess in your next books.
Harry Shumard

Rating:
Summary: From MyShelf.com
Review: Penny Mackenzie is the Lifestyle Editor for The Pearl Outrider - the local newspaper for the small town of Pearl. Her friend, Maxie Harper, reporter for the Outrider, talks her into a late night stakeout. Although a tip that local eighth graders are worshipping the devil and doing human sacrifices turns into nothing more than a pot party, the discovery of a skeleton in a nearby cotton field, throws Pearl into a frenzy of secrets, lies - and murder. Penny finds Maxie's body during an event put on by the Chamber of Commerce. Dinner in the Round is a progressive event that takes the participants to several locations for different parts of the dinner. However, Maxie's progress is ended permanently - at Egg Foo's Bar and Grill.

Who killed Maxie Harper and why? What does the book, Pearl, The Little Town That Gold Built, written by Dabney Brewster, a retired English teacher and the town's local historian, have to do with her death? And whose skeleton has been hiding all these years in Digger Pott's field?

As these questions swirl around Penny like crazy birds trying to find a place to land, Pearl's unique citizens create more questions than answers while a long lost love interest pops back into Penny's life, complicating matters even more.

In this stunning debut series novel, Pat Browning has created a wonderful protagonist and surrounded her with interesting side characters. Penny and Pearl hold the promise of many more intriguing adventures. Browning's writing is professional and flawless and the story is engrossing, with just the right touch of suspense and humor.

This is a winning cozy - from an exciting new author. I'll be watching for the next book in the series - and the next - and the next....

I give FULL CIRCLE my highest recommendation!

Rating:
Summary: Captivating Characters
Review: The rural, hometown personalities of Pat's characters really sparkle. Quirky and real, the dialogue only adds more charm to the story.

I believe the town of Pearl exists in pockets as Anytown, USA. Pat has a real flair for capturing the tell-it-like-it-isness of the folks. I think she must have known my Grandmother!

The mystery is twisty-turny, too, just the kind I like. I learned clues along with Penny MacKenzie, leading to a satisfying and logical end.

It's just the sort of book that goes with a cup of tea and a languid afternoon.