Dances with Winnebagos

I actually came across The Dance of the Winnebagos while looking on Amazon for another book by Ann Charles to leave my review. (For what it's worth, I gave Nearly Departed in Deadwood four stars, for good writing, good character development, and creating a love interest that didn't make me feel like I should start weaving blue ribbons in my hair and waiting for the birds to start helping me dress. I plan to read more in the series soon, and expect only good things from them.)

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I wanted something light to read after finishing The Hunger Games, and I chose Winnebagos to fill the bill. It did it beautifully. I cared about the characters. I found the old men charming (albeit a little cliche, but as I grow older I realize that truth is not only stranger than fiction, it actually is usually every bit as much a cliche!). The mystery portion had enough good clues to point me in the right direction, but enough twists to keep me intrigued. The love interest here too was handled well.

I admit I was disappointed when I read the sneak peak of the 2nd book in the series (again with the series! I was TOTALLY happy with this book when I thought it was a stand-alone book) and I'm not happy to see that the love story of this book appears to go the way of the dodo in the second book. If that is just a ploy to create a good story, I'm not going to be very happy. If it is a ploy to bring in a new love interest, I'll be even less happy. Like I said, I was perfectly satisfied to have this one be a stand-alone book.

NOTE: I found only one (and that one is a shocker, since highlighting errors in ebooks has become so commonplace that I don't even think about it any more) glaring error. That was the very common misuse of the term "pouring." Pitchers pour. Readers don't. You never "pour" over a book unless you want it to get wet! As I said, that's a common misuse and the fact that nothing else jumped out at me is a novelty! Kudos to the editor.

I have the rest of the Charles books waiting for me on my Kindle. I'll let you know if she can continue to keep charming me.

PS: Did I mention there was a dog? There was a dog. A beagle named Henry.

From the Amazon page:
Overview of DANCE OF THE WINNEBAGOS ...When Claire's grandfather and his army buddies converge in the Arizona desert to find new wives, it's her thankless job to keep them out of trouble with the opposite sex.

But when she finds a human leg bone and partners with a reluctant geotechnician to dig up secrets from the past, trouble finds her. If she doesn't stop digging, she could end up dead.