Rumble on the Bayou

I thought this book was good and will be watching for more by this author. If you look at my reviews, I guess I tend to only take the time to review the ones that take me by surprise- the ones I don't expect much of and figure maybe other people don't either. I always get excited over what I consider a "sleeper". While I didn't end this one with a sigh and desperation for another- it definitely was worth the 5 stars and my time to review.

I usually can pick out the bad guy in the first third of a mystery novel, but not so for this one. That alone is enough for me to give this book a five-star rating. And I usually find attempts a humor more of an eye-rolling variety. I hate it when an author tries too hard to be funny. The thing is, Jana DeLeon doesn't have to try hard to be funny--it's all inherent in her characters and the situation! She doesn't need to make them like Keystone Kops and put them in ridiculous setups in order to make me laugh--it's all in the small-town, Louisiana culture. I loved this book and I gave it to my mom, and she loved it and has been passing it around to all of her friends. So, if you're looking for a good mystery with the right amount of romance and laugh-out loud humor, you'll enjoy DeLeon's RUMBLE. I know I can't wait until the next one comes out!

Dorie Berenger is more than just the deputy in Gator Bait, Louisiana. She's also the game warden. So when there's an alligator floating in the town drunk's swimming pool she gets the distinct pleasure of dealing with it. Only the gator isn't just napping, it's stoned. Life on the bayou has always been peaceful and laid back but now trouble has arrived. Dorie doesn't know which is worse - the drugs being found in Gator Bait, or the overwhelming and condescending DEA agent who's been sent to catch a drug trafficker. Agent Richard Starke has invested more than eight years in trying to track down the elusive drug trafficker, Shawn Roland. He never anticipated ending up in a small backwater town in a stand off with the deputy sheriff, whom he's dubbed the "Princess of Hicksville." Richard (or Dick, as Dorie calls him) is clueless on how to deal with Dorie or any of the rest of the residents of the town but he'd better figure out how to be a mite friendlier if he has any hope of getting anyone to talk to him. The stoned alligator in Maylene's pool is the first indiction that there are drugs being moved through Gator Bait. The backpack lodged in the alligator's mouth which is full of heroin and cash is the second. Unfortunately they're all wet so Dorie and the other town deputy, Joe, have no way of getting fingerprints off any of it. As luck would have it, they get their print anyway off the one other object found in the mouth of the alligator - a finger. They run the print through the national database and right away Dorie notices a discrepancy from the normal message she would have received if there are no matching records. Going on instinct, Dorie knows that something big is going on and her little hometown is going to play a major role in whatever happens next. The following day after verifying that everybody in town still had all their fingers Dorie opts to spend her day off "fishing." Dorie's fishing attire is well known by her friends and acquaintances and since it makes most of them uncomfortable they leave her alone. Uptight DEA agent Starks is unaware of Dorie's penchant for fishing/sunbathing in her underwear and arrives in town demanding to see the sheriff. The sheriff is on medical leave and he'll have to make do with Dorie - underwear and all. From the minute they meet, they're at each other's throats but they're going to have to find a way to work together if they have any hope of capturing Shawn, maybe relieving a little of their pent up sexual frustration would help. RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU is Jana DeLeon's first published novel and I have to say it's one of the most entertaining books I've read in quite a while. From the very first page I was charmed by the characters that inhabit Gator Bait. I fell in love with deputy Joe and his shy nature, and laughed out loud at all the scenes involving the town drunk, Maylene. I loved every second of Dorie and Richard's ongoing battle of wills and the way they interact with

After sitting on this book for months, and reading some not so stellar books to start out the year with, I picked up Rumble on The Bayou and it sure didn't disappoint! Deputy Sheriff Dorie Berenger gets a call to the resident loony's house to investigate the alligator in her swimming pool. Assuming Maylene is drunk again, Dorie is somewhat surprised to find a stoned gator, with a bag of heroin, money, and a finger in his mouth. Dorie & deputy Joe run a print on the finger, and soon after DEA agent Richard (aka: Dick) arrives to investigate. The laughs begin with the stoned gator in the Maylene's pool, and don't let up throughout the entire book. Everything in the small town of Gator Bait, LA is common knowledge, right down to Dick's designer underwear. In order for the town folk to open up to him, Dick needs to get Dorie on his side. No easy feat, since Dorie has a mind of her own, and plenty of resources too. Dick's challenges are just beginning..... As the investigation progresses, Dorie and Dick are shot at, her house boat home explodes & goes up in flames. The drug runner, Roland, that Dick is after, killed Dick's father in a bust gone bad 8 years ago, and Dick will do whatever it takes to bring this guy in. Along the way, he falls for Dorie, after realizing that she's not some swamp educated hick, but a well educated woman who is his match in every way. And he falls for the town as well, realizing that after all his years in the big city, no one knows or cares for him the way the citizens of Gator Bait do. For a first book by this author, this is an awesome story. Hooks you in from the first page, with humor that continues through out the entire book. Even when the chips are down, DeLeon throws in laugh out loud moments. The suspense is real too. This is a situation that could occur in any town in the USA. However, the Bayou setting just adds to the ambience of the story. The mix of suspense, laughter and loveable characters makes this an outstanding book

I absolutely loved Rumble on the Bayou! Not many books make me laugh out loud. Even fewer books keep me turning the pages long after I should be asleep at night. Rumble did both! The characters in the small, southern town of Gator Bait, Louisiana are wonderful, eccentric and completely believable. Deputy Dorie Berenger is smart, sharp and sexy. She's a heroine I can admire and believe in. City slicker DEA agent, Richard Stark, is a brash know-it-all who doesn't know who he's about to tangle with. He soon learns that he'd better get on Dorie's good side if they're going to solve the mystery of why there's an alligator, high on heroin, in Maylene Thibodeaux's swimming pool! And who does the finger, also in the 'gator's mouth, belong to? Maylene herself is hilarious - knocking back the homebrew and seeing aliens in the garden and unicorns in the bedroom. I loved sweet, shy Deputy Joe and his halting pursuit of the loveable Jenny. Dorie's father is there, with advice and help - but Dorie soon begins to wonder if he's a part of the problem. The other secondary characters are equally compelling and fully developed. No one dimensional characters in Rumble! Buy this book! You won't be sorry you did. I'm looking forward with eager (and slightly impatient!) anticipation for more, more, more from Jana DeLeon!