It’s my turn today on the Dang Near Dead tour!
Dang Near Dead
Series: An Aggie Mundeen Mystery
Publisher: Henery Press (September 30, 2014)
Hardcover: 238 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1941962169
Paperback: 280 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1940976402
E-Book ASIN: B00N12RJLC
Aggie vacations with Sam and Meredith at a Texas Hill Country dude ranch with plans to advise her column readers how to stay young and fresh in summer. Except for wranglers, dudes, heat, snakes and poison ivy, what could go wrong?
When an expert rider is thrown from a horse and lies in a coma, Aggie is convinced somebody caused the fall. Despite Sam’s warnings, Aggie is determined to expose the assailant. She concocts ingenious sleuthing methods that strain their dicey relationship as she probes secrets of the ranch and its inhabitants. After she scatters a hornet’s nest of cowboys, she discovers more than one hombre in the bunch would like to slit her throat.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Aggie, Meredith and Sam arrive at the BVS Dude Ranch and are immediately underwhelmed by the place but after meeting the owners and other visitors they decide to stick it out and try to enjoy themselves. When one of the employees of the ranch is thrown from her horse Aggie’s itchy feet tell her something is not right. When she learns the previous owners of the ranch died of unusual circumstances and their will contained some strange contingencies Aggie gets even more curious.
Unlike the first story of this series, Fit To Be Dead Aggie listens to Sam and they work together to piece together the evidence and clues to try to find out what really happened. Being a detective he can get information Aggie could never get on her own. They are also working on their relationship although she still has a big secret. To get the most out of this story you need to have read the first book in this series to understand Aggie and Sam’s relationship. This book builds from the foundation set up there and continues.
The mystery is pretty complex as it ties to the past history of the dude ranch and the lengths some people will go to get something they want. There are a variety of suspects and the setting itself adds to the adventure. 1800 acres is a lot of ground to cover and it is full of trails that can divert from the truth or lead you to it.
Being from Wisconsin I enjoyed the references to my state and was surprised how many of the characters moved from here or close by.
Nancy G. West has taken us to a fun place for this installment and while there is plenty of drama there is also plenty of humor. I really enjoyed Dang Near Dead and can’t wait to see where Aggie and her friends go next.
About This Author
I’ve been writing since age seven: poems back and forth with my mom. I had a real poem published in the Library Journal, Pegasus, at age fifteen. At eighteen, I wanted to study journalism and English literature, but friends who chose that college route were making minimum wage or selling lingerie. Being practical, I earned a business degree. After marriage and two children, I decided I HAD to study literature and write. I wrote non-fiction articles, a biography, and a suspense novel in 2004. That’s when whimsical Aggie Mundeen cut through the suspense, popped into my head and demanded her own series. The Aggie Mundeen mystery capers were born. Aggie must have been right: FIT TO BE DEAD is a LEFTY FINALIST 2013 for best humorous mystery, nominated by Left Coast Crime.
Links:
Chat with Aggie and Nancy on their blog: www.stayyoungwithaggie.wordress.com.
Author’s Webpage: http://www.nancygwest.com/
Author Page at Henery Press: http://henerypress.com/authors-humorous-mystery-series-authors/nancy-g-west/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6442929.Nancy_G_West
Purchase – | B&N Nook | Kobo | iTunes | Google Play | B&N Paperback
Tour Participants – Check out all the stops!
February 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – Review
February 19 – Omnimystery News – Interview
February 20 – Christa Reads and Writes – Review
February 23 – Babs Book Bistro – Interview
February 24 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review
February 25 – deal sharing aunt – Guest Post
February 26 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review
February 27 – A Blue Million Books – Interview
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Dang Near Dead sounds intriguing, and I am looking forward to reading the books in the series.
Dear Jen, I’m glad Aggie intrigues you like she does me. I’m also glad that Detective Sam intrigues her…and vice versa, despite their rocky relationship.
Stay tuned . . .
Sounds good to me. Looking for Fit to be Dead.
HI Gram, I hope you get lots of chuckles from Fit to Be Dead. It can be ordered at your favorite Indie Store, Amazon & B&N.com, or from Henery Press.
Happy Reading!
Dear Dollycas, Thanks for having me on your site and for the five star review! I love watching Aggie Mundeen get into trouble and try to get herself out. Her relationship with Detective heats up more in Smart, But Dead, coming November 17 (up for pre-orders August 24.) Will they ever marry? Should they?
Nancy and Aggie
I read the first in the series and enjoyed it a lot! And I can’t help but feeling a kindship with anyone who would put the word ‘dang’ in the title of a book! :O)
Dear Kentuckygal,
Dang right. Aggie Mundeen can be dang obstreperous.
Sounds like a really good book. Will have to check out this series.
Sue B
HI, Sue, Sorry for the late reply. I hope you enjoy watching Aggie Mundeen get into trouble as much as I do.
Thank you for checking out the series!
Nancy & Aggie