Jennifer Skully Reviews

Added August 25, 2005

Fool's Gold

Author: Jennifer Skully
Publisher: HQN Books
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: October 28, 2005
Genre: Romance: Contemporary
Format: Paperback
Price: $5.99
ISBN: 0-373-77081-2
Author Email/Website: www.skullybuzz.com
Reviewer: Safiya Tremayne
Rating: 8 Gargoyles

Tyler Braxton, better known as Brax, came to Goldstone, Nevada to forget. Forget the fact he missed the signs and a friend died. He needed to get away from his home in Cottonmouth and his sister Maggie's phone call provided the perfect excuse. Now that he was here, he had no idea how he was supposed to help his sister fix her marriage. What did he know about relationships?

Brax's conversation with his brother-in-law Carl wasn't going too well. It went from okay to nonexistent when the beautiful Simone Chandler stopped by their table. She was gorgeous and he couldn't keep his mind off her. Warning signals went off in his brain when she mentioned an email to Carl and Carl's resulting blush. Was his sister right? Could Carl really be cheating on Maggie?

Brax really hopes not, especially as he becomes friends with Simone. Well, friends wasn't quite the right word for what was simmering between them. Learning she wrote custom erotica made her even more desirable in his eyes. The anticipation and longing to explore each other continues to build between them. Will they be consumed by their passion? Their fragile relationship is put to the test when ladies from the local brothel find Carl's body.

The local sheriff believes it was murder and Brax agrees with him. The question is, who murdered him? Was it the shifty Jason LaFoote, who wants to renovate the old hotel? He and Carl certainly didn't get along. Was it Whitey? Everyone in town knows they were feuding? Or, and he hated to even think it, could his sister have done it?

In a small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone's business, finding a murderer is the hardest thing in the world. Throw in a surprise visit from Simone's controlling mother, and it's no wonder Brax has a hard time keeping his thoughts on the case. Will they find the murderer before Maggie's grief destroys her?

Wow. Jennifer Skully's latest is an erotic, thrill ride. The relationship between Brax and Simone sizzles; the anticipation builds with every word and the reader is just as taut with desire as the characters themselves. False clues abound and the reader is able to use the facts presented to solve the mystery on their own but isn't positive until the showdown at the end. Throw in some unforgettably, hilarious scenes (I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but they are truly laugh-out-loud funny.), eccentric townspeople and fantastic descriptions and it's easy to see Jennifer Skully has created a winner.

Fool's Gold is the real thing!

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Added March 11, 2005

Sex and the Serial Killer

Author: Jennifer Skully
Publisher: HQN Books
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: January 2005
Genre: Romance: Suspense/Contemporary
Format: Paperback
Price: $6.50
ISBN: 0-373-77027-8
Author Email/Website: www.skullybuzz.com
Reviewer: Sharyn McGinty
Rating: 8.25 Gargoyles

She was a good wife, no one could argue with that. Just how many wives would help their husbands locate their high-school sweethearts so they could confront them and have closure? She was a good wife, so why did her husband leave her? Dumb idiot, she would show him.

Determined to make her husband pay and beg to have her back, Roberta shortens her name to Bobbie, cuts her hair, gets an entirely new wardrobe and adopts a new attitude. She even quits her job, moves to the same town her husband now resides in, sells the expensive car and buys a house. The fact the townspeople believe her next-door neighbor to be a serial killer makes it all the more perfect. Her soon-to-be ex-husband wouldn't know what hit him.

As Bobbie adjusts to her new life and new attitude, she realizes she doesn't really want her husband back. She wants a man who won't make her beg to be touched, beg for sex only to have him turn her down. Somehow she gets the feeling her next door neighbor wouldn't never turn her down and would do everything in his power to satisfy her. But will she be able to get past the barriers Nick's constructed to protect his heart?

Between Nick's get-lost attitude and the townspeople's warnings, Bobbie would have to be out of her mind to be friends with Nick, much less sleep with him. So why couldn't she think of anything else whenever she caught a glimpse of him? As she sorts out her conflicting emotions, she soon learns small town life isn't a picnic. Especially when the wealthiest man in town is found dead and her ex-husband claims he's responsible. To make matters worse, not to mention their fledgling love, someone is going out of the way to frame Nick, something Bobbie won't permit. Will she be able to save her ex-husband and her new love from jail and find the killer before he decides to get rid of her as well?

Truly a laugh-out-loud, drool over the hunky hero and sheriff book, Sex and the Serial Killer is not only a must read but a keeper. Skully writes with ease, bringing Bobbie and her problems to life; readers can't help falling in love with her. How can you not sympathize with a woman whose husband leaves her for his married high school sweetheart? Or rejoice when she learns men still look at her ass, even though she's forty?

Readers will cheer as they watch Bobbie take control of her life, changing her image and finally becoming the woman she's always wanted to be. As for the hunky hero that the townspeople believe to be a serial killer…readers will wish they were in Bobbie's shoes. Great characters, excitement, small town life, unexpected laughs, sizzling romance, is it even possible to top Sex and the Serial Killer? Well, there is that sequel Fools Gold due out in October, featuring the dreamy sheriff Brax. This is one reviewer who'll be doing some rereading while waiting most impatiently for the next book.

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