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It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.
Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law's death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn't slow down Helena one bit. DEA Agent Luc LeJeune is wondering what his undercover assignment investigating the sexy scientist has gotten him into - especially as it seems someone wants her dead.
Everyone wondered about Shaye Archer's past. Including Shaye. Shaye Archer's life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous 15 years, not even her name. Nine years later, she's a licensed private investigator with a single goal - to get answers for her clients when there aren't supposed to be any. And maybe, someday, answers for herself.
Meteorologist Zoe Parker put Everlasting in her rearview mirror as soon as she had her college degree in hand. But when Sapphire, her eccentric great-aunt, takes a tumble down the stairs in her lighthouse home, Zoe returns to the tiny fishing hamlet to look after her. Zoe has barely crossed the county line when strange things start happening with the weather, and she discovers Sapphire's fall was no accident. Someone is searching the lighthouse, but Sapphire has no idea what they're looking for.
For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She's had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone's toilet's overflowed, but she's never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.
Davis Way thinks she's hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies.
It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.
Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law's death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn't slow down Helena one bit. DEA Agent Luc LeJeune is wondering what his undercover assignment investigating the sexy scientist has gotten him into - especially as it seems someone wants her dead.
Everyone wondered about Shaye Archer's past. Including Shaye. Shaye Archer's life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous 15 years, not even her name. Nine years later, she's a licensed private investigator with a single goal - to get answers for her clients when there aren't supposed to be any. And maybe, someday, answers for herself.
Meteorologist Zoe Parker put Everlasting in her rearview mirror as soon as she had her college degree in hand. But when Sapphire, her eccentric great-aunt, takes a tumble down the stairs in her lighthouse home, Zoe returns to the tiny fishing hamlet to look after her. Zoe has barely crossed the county line when strange things start happening with the weather, and she discovers Sapphire's fall was no accident. Someone is searching the lighthouse, but Sapphire has no idea what they're looking for.
For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She's had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone's toilet's overflowed, but she's never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.
Davis Way thinks she's hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies.
After a decade spent in the glare of the Hollywood spotlight as the star of kids' TV show Half Pint Detective, Sofia Salgado has had enough. Desperate to build a life outside showbiz, she quits acting to do something that everyone around her - including her family - thinks is plain nuts. Get a real job.
Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. But when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated.
When out-of-work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she's saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick - she gains the ability to see spirits. It leads to an offer she can't refuse from the town's bad boy, the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with. Ellis Wyatt is in possession of a stunning historic property haunted by some of Sugarland, Tennessee's finest former citizens.
Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot's rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society and made elegance and glamour her business. She's riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she's blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start - and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.
Jayne Frost is a winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne, and now private investigator. Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at a toy store are going missing. Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that's strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger.
Hadley Hunter has lived a normal life, in a normal suburb, with a normal job and a normal father. All that changes when a grandmother she didn’t even know existed dies and leaves her a fabulous lighthouse on Moonstone Bay Island. From the naked woman swimming in the ocean outside her back door to the hot sheriff who seems to be hiding a secret, Hadley is intrigued from the start. That’s before magical things start happening - including to Hadley - and a body washes up on the beach.
From New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Jana DeLeon, the fifth book in the hilarious Miss Fortune series.
Things are starting to look up for Fortune Redding. Even though her life was at stake, the CIA assassin had balked at taking on a new identity in Sinful, Louisiana. But instead of hating it like she'd thought she would, Fortune now has friends she cares about and just finished up an incredible first date with the sexiest deputy in the state. Sure, there's been a murder or two that she's gotten mixed up in since she arrived in town, but she's hoping all of that is behind her.
But when someone almost kills Deputy Carter LeBlanc, Fortune tosses her dreams of peace and quiet into the muddy bayou and shifts back into being the deadly trained professional that she is. With the help of Ida Belle and Gertie, Fortune launches a manhunt, intending to find a killer before he tries again.
...a touch of romance. A young female CIA assassin has a price on her head by an international arms dealer, so she takes the name of Fortune Redding and moves to the town of Sinful, Louisiana where she meets two old ladies, The Geritol Mafia named Ida Bell and Gertie, who were spies for the US during the Vietnam war. The entire town believes that Fortune is a librarian who is in Sinful for three months to settle the estate of her aunt. Ida Bell and Gertie soon learn the truth about Fortune and her unique skills. Meanwhile handsome deputy sheriff Carter LeBlanc develops a (mutual) romantic interest in Fortune as he continues to believe she is a librarian he must protect. That sets up this marvelous and funny suspense mystery series. The closest suspense humor series I am aware of is the wonderful Shelby Nichols series by Colleen Helme.
Gator Bait is Book 5 in the 10 novel (so far) series by Louisiana author Jana DeLeon. I have previously reviewed the prior four novels. Fortune, Ida Bell and Gertie once again find danger and adventure in Gator Bait. Once again much of the novel is laugh-out-loud funny despite real dangers and suspense. Deputy Carter LeBlanc finally asks Fortune for a date; that date starts events that puts Carter's life at risk and brings the US ATF to town.
Cassandra Campbell narrates the series perfectly and she is the voice of Fortune Redding. I love the Miss Fortune series and recommend it. Start with Louisiana Longshot, the first novel in the series.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Jana Deleon has a real talent for creating strong, confident and fascinating women, unlike the pathetic wimpy girls so popular in recent romantic fiction.
In Gator Bait, the Swamp Team 3 (Fortune, Ida Belle and Gertie) helped deputy Carter investigate the possibility of someone running guns through Sinful, Louisiana. While the plot was well written, it's the town's unique characters and humorous situations which make this series so entertaining.
FYI, these books are light on swearing, sex or graphic violence but heavy on chuckles.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
This isn't the best review because it's a recommendation for another series: Dead End Jobs by Elaine Viets. I bring this up because if you've made it this far with Fortune then you like the style of mystery and Dead End Jobs is very similar. Anyway, Gator Bait is more of the same for the series. I liked it but it may need some more development on her would-be asssain.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
The Sinful Ladies are fabulous. Makes me wish I was in the bayou! Great read!!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
Good book, but not quite as good as the previous books in the series. I still love the characters as if they were real and the reader is superb.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of Gator Bait to be better than the print version?
The narration is incredibly good!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Gator Bait?
The whole book is too good good to just single out an incident.
Have you listened to any of Cassandra Campbell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This whole series is narrated by her. She is the perfect narrator.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I did, it only took me one day.
Any additional comments?
Superb series and narration.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
This is the best series I have ever listened to. It should be a tv show!
The morning after her date with Deputy Carter that concluded Swamp Team 3, Fortune is called upon to save Carter’s life when the junior deputy runs to find her upon receiving an S.O.S. call from Carter with gunshots in the background in Gator Bait, the 5th book in Jana DeLeon’s Miss Fortune series. Stealing a boat, Ida Belle and Gertie go with Fortune to the island where he took her for their date, only to see the sheriff’s boat sinking and no sight of Carter. In no time, Fortune has dived into the lake, locating the unconscious Carter (with her heart, according to Gertie) in the dark, murky waters and brought him back to the surface, miraculously saving his life to the astonishment of all.
When the ATF storms into the hospital demanding that Carter tell them all, which he can’t do because of temporary amnesia due to his concussion, not only does everyone get upset at the rudeness of the agents but Fortune recognizes one of the agents she once worked with in her capacity as CIA agent. To avoid getting identified and her cover blown, she plays the ditzy blond, to the amusement of Carter, who thinks she is just trying to get rid of the agents. The agents demand that Carter stay out of their investigation, despite not telling him what they are investigating, so this leaves Swamp Team 3 to do their job.
This book has what is probably the funniest scene in all eight books in this series that are available on audio. It involves Carter’s “Rambo dog” rottweiler, Tiny; the ATF agents; and the ancient sheriff, who hasn’t driven a car in years but shows up on a burro. I’ll leave the details for you to enjoy while reading the book.
Another plot in this book is the mayoral election, which Celia Arceneaux, the local bitch and leader of God’s Wives, the enemy of the Sinful Ladies Society, has entered at the last minute. A riot develops during the election, leading to a fight between Gertie and Celia in which Gertie responds to Celia’s slap in the face with mace, and Celia, who has escaped the mace, rips off Gertie’s dress. The fight lands Gertie in jail just as she is needed to serve as lookout that night while Fortune and Ida Belle raid the Mafia-owned storage building where the ATF has locked up the recovered sheriff’s boat. Of course the resourceful trio is able to manage successfully, leading to a pair of fun encounters with the ATF agents and the Mafia members who run the place. As usual, the book concludes with an exciting shootout that has some creative touches.
This book continues with the style of the previous books in being both some of the funniest books I’ve ever read as well as the most creative mystery books I’ve ever read. The book continues with the personal growth we’ve seen in Fortune, as she realizes how much she has come to care about Carter and her other friends despite her efforts not to get personally involved.
Cassandra Campbell reads the audio version of this whole series. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book and didn’t want to put it down.
I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. You can read the books in the series out of order, but I do suggest reading the books in sequence if possible because you will better appreciate Fortune’s personal growth and some of the back story to the series. I give this book five stars!
I truly enjoy this series! I've read the first 5 and can't wait to keep going!!!!
First I have to say that the woman narrating/performing this book is phenomenal at changing her voices and keeping track of who’s who during all dialogues! She paces herself so well and uses expression and intensity I varying levels that fit the different moments throughout the book! The book comes alive because of her!
I love when I find a series of books with great characters, and miss them when I’m done with the book! Jana Deleon is an excellent story teller and makes the stories so interesting and impossible to guess the outcome! And my missing her characters after the book ends is a compliment to her as well, her ability to flush out these personalities and interactions with each other!
Great series! Have also begun to read other books by her and am similarly pleased! Thank u to u both!