Hot Shot

I haven't enjoyed a book like this in ages! Funny wasn't the word, it was hilarious and so in your face. The writing was phenomenal and very witty, no stupid and unrealistic silliness here. A TRUE romantic comedy with much depth. The characters were very fleshed out and I started to imagine I knew them. The hero is not perfect and the heroine is FAR from being any kind of perfect which I loved LOL. Ms. Hughes also did a little role reversal here with the characters. The hero was the more sensitive one here with thoughts of marriage and so forth and the heroine was a chain smoking loudmouth with ideas of getting said hero into bed, lol. I Loved it. If you love Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series, you will adore this one. Since the two authors are very close friends you can sense the writing styles are shared. Same humor and 'in your face' heroine who doesn't apologize. Frankie Daniels hates her life. She just was demoted and sent packing to a small-town called Purdyville, NC after being caught sleeping with a married man...her partner and a very important man's son. LOL. Purdyville isn't what she expects. The people are very nosey and seem to know everything about everyone, but that isn't her biggest problem right now. The Sheriff of this hick town is. Mr. Matt Webber, a gorgeous and seemingly non-hick guy with the sexiest eyes she'd ever seen. Also her boss...hmmm, not smart Frankie. Thinking about getting Sheriff Webber into bed isn't on her 'too smart' list so she bides her time until she can find another job out of this place and away from the town's gossips and the town's bully whom she beats up on her first day in. Crime seems to have risen with her arrival and no one knows why, must be that 'big city girl' bringin' trouble. Matt is determined to scratch away at that tough exterior and get to the real Frankie, what he finds blows his mind. But can Frankie stay put long enough to trust again? This is one funny and hot book. The tension between the two are amazing. I was loathe for it to end. Thank-you Ms. Hughes for a great read and brightening up my day :) Tracy Talley~@

Detective Frances `Frankie' Daniels is REALLY having one of those lives. She's been called on the carpet for fraternizing with the police commissioner's son-in-law (hey, he told her he was getting a divorce!), and given no option other than to accept a job on small town police force in Purdyville, South Carolina. To a big city girl like Frankie, this is the backwoods of nowhere. But with the choices she's given-none-she packs her things, and heads to Nowhere, U. S. A. Frankie arrives in Purdeyville, only to see the small house she had rented reduced to ash. Could this get any worse? Sheriff Matt Webber is stunned when the pretty little woman jumps out of her car and starts ranting and raving, and demanding answers. Deciding to play the good `ole boy to the hilt, he lets her go on and on. Only when she starts going on about her new job on the Hicksville police force, Matt's co-hort, the Fire Marshall, feels he has to give her a heads up. Frankie has just insulted her new boss. Matt's curious about what brought the pretty little detective to such a small town, but she's not forth coming with answers. Deciding that he'll give her the benefit of the doubt, he helps her find a place to stay, and tells her he'll definitely give her a chance on his force. Wow! The sparks start to fly from the instant Matt and Frankie meet, and don't let up for one second. Frankie continually finds herself in situations where she has to be the `tough' broad, but we also get to see the inner turmoil she has going on. Matt senses the soft heart that Frankie has, and doesn't let her smoking, cussing, and just acting the tough broad turn him off. He's drawn to Frankie in a way he's never been drawn to another. We see their relationship develop at the perfect pace, and feel all the emotions with them.Miss Hughes has penned not only an incredible romance, but a hilarious one as well! I couldn't wait to turn the pages to see what Frankie would get up to next, and the secondary characters are a definite enhancement to the story line, adding to both the humor and the romance. I thought to myself how will she make us like this heroine? I not only found myself rooting for Frankie, but loving her for the strength she has built through out her life. This story is a must for not only contemporary fans, but suspense fans as well! This was an all nighter-you won't be able to put this down, and will definitely find a place for it on your keeper shelf.

HOT SHOT is a fun and entertaining read, that made the USA Today list the first week it was out. The heroine is memorable -- you will either love or hate her -- but there is no in between. I loved her, but then I like strong women and real world people. Frankie Daniels is a tough-talking, hard-as-nails Atlanta police detective. She is thrown for a loop when her affair (she thought he was divorced) with the police commissioner's son-in-law, is revealed. Frankie is 'transferred' to Purdeyville, a Mayberry-like town with a good looking sheriff sweeter than Andy Griffith. She arrives to find the smoldering ruins of her new rented house, and a bristly encounter with her new boss Marshall Matt Webber.This tough and streetwise lady softens throughout the book as she adopts some of the values of the small southern town. There is a ton of fun as this mouthy Atlanta cop has to deal with barking dachshunds, a loose bull, the price of Alma Grimes' Pecan Pie, and similar routine police work.But murder and mayhem (and bad luck) seem to follow her, and she and Matt have a plateful of crimes to solve. Frankie fights her attraction to the warm and sensitive Marshall, not wanting to make the same mistake twice. The ensuing mystery was exciting and had a suprise ending.Charlotte Hughes has a wonderful voice, and she is rumored to be "breaking out". Certainly her latest novel, combined with her recent impressive work for MIRA abd with janet Evanovich, would indicate a load of talent. The romantic tension between Matt and Frankie is an interesting turn, since Matt is a wonderful male lead and Frankie almost doesn't deserve him. But he finds the softness under her bitter facade, and he thinks she is a keeper.I can't say enough about the robust fun, and the quirky hard sweetness of this book. The fast pace and compelling plot is a bonus and it would have been a favorite without the mystery. I loved the supporting cast as well, and wished the book would never end.

HOT SHOT is an incredibly entertaining mix of suspense, romance, and humor. Think lethal weapon meets Andy of Mayberry. Tough talking, street wise, hard-as-nails Atlanta police detective Frankie Daniels has an affair with her new partner (he says he's divorced) only to find out he lied. What's worse is that he is the police commisoners son-in-law. She is 'transferred' to Purdeyville, North Carolina, Unfortunately, she arrives to find the smoldering ruins of her new rented house, and a bristly encounter with her new boss. In this sleepy town, this tough heroine learns from her boss, Marshall Matt Webber, some of the homespun values of a small southern town. There are a gaggle of giggles as this tough Atlanta cop has to deal with shoplifting, barking dachshunds, a randy bull, and other small town 'crimes.' But Matt is glad to have her talents as well, because murder and mayhem seem to have risen to the occasion. Having already dealt with the results of affairs in the workplace, Frankie fights her attraction to the warm and sensual marshall. But she also finds it increasingly difficult to maintain her distance, from him and from the town. More important, Frankie and Matt have to put aside their egos to solve murders while keeping her mother and the bull on a short leash. Charlotte Hughes has a wonderful vehicle in HOT SHOT for her humor: a tough city heroine, in a small town, solving crime and romance. It grabs you and won't let you stop reading. The use of fun humorous scenes as breaks in the suspensful tension is masterful. The romantic tension between Matt and Frankie is also compelling. A real keeper!

Tough talking, chain smoking Atlanta detective Frankie Daniels falls from grace when her affair with the police commissioner's son-in-law, a married man with three children, becomes public knowledge. A tape of their sexual exploits ends her time on the Atlanta force, but the Captain pulls some strings and secures a new job opportunity for her in Purdyville, North Carolina. Unfortunately, she arrives to find the smoldering remains of her rent house, a mud bath, and a bristly encounter with her new boss.The vulnerabilities created by witnessing the worse of mankind's depravity on Atlanta's streets combines with the lies her former lover told, leave Frankie rather hard edged-except when she yields to her emotions by crying in the shower. She has stopped seeing the people involved by crimes, thinking in terms of case numbers instead. She even wonders if she has lost her femininity. Meeting Police Chief Matt Weber forces her to reevaluate herself, her past and her future.Having already dealt with the results of "fraternization", Frankie fights her attraction to the sinfully sensual chief. But as small town crime increases, Frankie finds it increasingly difficult to maintain her distance. Matt's clear regarding his feelings, but Frankie backs off when she becomes the object of small town gossip. But taking down the town bully and finds her hotel room vandalized demonstrates that Frankie has thrust herself in the middle of small town drama and the ... danger it can present.Irreverently humorous moments lend a marvelous touch of levity to the wonderful romantic suspense HOT SHOT. Frankie thinks she is a hot shot when she arrives in Purdyville with ten years of street smarts. As she finds out how out of touch she is with humanity, however, she learns to balance street smarts with genuine concern. Yet author charlotte Hughes respects the strength that allows a detective to walk the Atlanta streets for ten years by not compromising the qualities that make Frankie unique - from her chain smoking to her ability to floor an unruly man twice her size in a parking lot. In addition, Matt's steadfast determination to win her heart, defend her reputation, and still respect Frankie as a person likewise will win reader's hearts. Further, Hughs masterfully captures the flavor of small town living that makes it unique, especially illustrated when Frankie brings a store-bought cake in a plastic container to a potluck. A tale of redemption, love and healing, HOT SHOT comes very highly recommended.