South Of Sanity (Hannah Garvey Mysteries #2)

Suzan Ledbetter's South of Sanity is a delightful, easy read. The characters are charming: a sexy Sheriff David Hendrickson, quirky old-agers and townspeople, wacky senior citizen sleuths IdaClare and Delbert, and Hannah Garvey, a 40-something advertising agency dynamo who leaves Chicago's hustle and bustle to manage Valhalla Springs, an exclusive retirement community in the Missouri Ozarks. Even the pets are memorable, a mutt named Malcolm and a rottweiler named Rambo. The dialogue's incredible with the vivid mental pictures it evokes. Some of the scenes will have you laughing out loud. The prose can sometimes require a re-read because its breeziness is confusing, but it's saucy and funny. The mystery plot's good with a not-too-obvious twist. The romantic tense great! The rich blend of humor, romance, mystery, and danger with the author's sense of humor provides the reader with non-stop reading enjoyment.Can't wait to read East of Peculiar, the first of the series, and North of Clever, the sequel, when it comes out. Suzan Ledbetter has me hooked on this series. Her style is fast, refreshing, and hilariously funny. Great entertainment!

After Reading Suzann Ledbetter's East of Peculiar, this second visit to the retirement village continues the fun and mystery. The characters in this book are just that...characters! These elderly people that our heroine looks after are a real treat. I can't wait for the third book in the series.

What a fun, madcap cast of senior citizens! Take the phone off the hook, bar the door and prepare to delve into one of the most entertaining books to come around in a very long time! If I could find a retirement community full of craziness and lovable characters like this, I'd be scouting it out now! Oh, did I mention the wonderful, wacky inhabitants of Valhalla Springs aren't the main focal point of this book? They may remain in your memory long after you've read another 20 books or so, but we're actually supposed to be basically involved with the heroine, Hannah Garvey...the resident manager of Valhalla Springs and our hero, Sheriff David Hendrickson. A proper romance between the two just doesn't seem to get going well without help from the hilarious group of seniors.I hadn't even heard of this book....just picked it up on a whim and thank goodness I did! Now, if only I had known at the time that there was a book proceeding it, "East of Peculiar" which I had to run right out and buy. (And am in the middle of enjoying right now.) And the good news! A third in the series, "North of Clever" is due out in December! I just found this out by reading the reviews, which I should have done to start with! Where oh where has Susan Ledbetter been and why have I never found her before? What a fun, fun mind this author has!

I'm not real sure what I just read, however, it was fun while the ride lasted. South of Sanity might have been better named South of Insanity. There is a wonderful cast of eccentric characters that keeps this story moving. Apparently this is the second book out of two with recurring characters. Now I've got to track down the first book and wait until December 2001 for the third. Hannah Garvey has given up a high-powered job with an advertising agency to take over as resident manager for an exclusive retirement community. You might think a book featuring secondary characters from a retirement community as dull, but these characters would give any gang of teenagers a run for their money on the amount of trouble they can stir up, mostly just by trying to be helpful. Sheriff David Hendrick has the hots for Hannah. They are very aware of each other and very attracted to each other. They finally, after a few mishaps, get together for their first date. Naturally nothing goes right and Hannah ends up going with the Sheriff to answer a police call. The call goes bad and the Sheriff ends up suspended, possibly on trial for murder. The gang, from the retirement community, decides to help matters along by investigating and clearing the way for Hannah and the Sheriff to get it together. This was one funny book. There's romance, suspense, and a lot of comic relief. I kept wondering what in the world I had bought to read-I know now. I bought a terrific book with a wonderful cast of characters.

When Hannah Garvey left Chicago for the Ozarks, she expected a calmer lifestyle, as the resident manager of the Valhalla Springs retirement home. However, Hannah never accounted for 360 residents including a murder investigation of one of them (see EAST OF PECULIAR).Currently, Hannah accompanies her younger beau, Sheriff David Henrickson to the home of one of her charges, IdaClare Clancy, who is not just any feisty senior citizen. IdaClare happens to be the mother of Hannah's boss and the drug trafficking charge is not amusing to the Windy City police. The police have arrested IdaClare for growing and distributing marijuana that she claims is for medicinal use for her and her peers.While on a date with Hannah, a Mr. Quince wants to die, draws a gun and forces David to kill him "in a suicide by cop" act. Detective Andrak investigates the scene and informs David that there is no gun. It appears that David used excess force to kill an unarmed person, which will invariable make him the first incumbent sheriff in Kinderhook County to lose reelection. Hannah and her elderly posse begin investigating what happened in order to clear David's name.SOUTH OF SANITY continues the amusing story of Hannah. The story line retains its freshness due to the peculiarity of its cast. The senior citizens provide depth with their antics such as eating too many marijuana- laced brownies (Alice is not here). The amateur sleuth inquiries and the relationship between Hannah and David make this novel a winner that will send readers seeking Suzann Ledbetter's first tale in this series and demanding the next novel.Harriet Klausner