Review: IVY GET YOUR GUN by Cindy Brown

Ivy Meadows is no longer green. Phoenix's answer to Nancy Drew has gained quite a bit of sleuthing experience over the last three books. In her previous outing, OLIVER TWISTED, Ivy sailed the deep blue seas on a Dickens-themed cruise. This time out she's got the blues alright, but in the bleak, arid desert; a terrain awash with sweeping sepia sands, fadEd Brown saloons, and black bat-filled caves! The classic Wild West oater is back - and safely in the reliable hands of author Cindy Brown.

This time out, Brown's colorful narrative is inspired by Annie Oakley, the real-life western sure-shot, as well as Irving Berlin's somewhat romanticized bio-musical ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, which first took Broadway by storm in 1948. Not only did it originally star the Great White Way's leading belter, Miss Ethel Merman, it was produced by none other than Rodgers and Hammerstein themselves. It's no surprise that spunky Ivy identifies with Oakley and is hoping to land the lead role in a revival at Arizona Center Stage. While waiting, she goes undercover for her gumshoe uncle to discover who shot a dime store cowboy out at Dry Bug Gulch, a tourist trap on the outskirts of Scottsdale. To get the inside scoop on the tumbleweed town, Ivy gets cast in a melodrama presented in the town's old-time little theatre. This eventually leads to an even more perilous undercover assignment, taking part in Gold Bug's choreographed gunfights.

While the bullets are flying at the Gulch, Ivy moonlights as a pet detective to track down Lassie, a perky pug who has high-tailed it into the desert in the company of a pack of feral Chihuahuas. Ivy also takes time (what little she has left) for a personal life with her boyfriend Matt and her disabled brother Cody. Brown skillfully intersperses pertinent references to the previous books, making Ivy's newest saga feel less sequel than serial. With its short, pithy chapters and heaping helpings of humor, IVY GET YOUR GUN arrives just in time for your summer reading list!

There comes a time in every thespian's life when they must consider whether they belong in front of the footlights or to follow another dream. Ivy Meadows may be nearing that fork in the dusty road. Will she choose a life as a performer or as a PI? Whichever she chooses, it's clear her love for the stage will never wane - and that's good news for theatre-loving mystery fans everywhere! What's next for Brown's sleuth series? MY FAIR IVY? IVITA? HELLO, IVY!? Whatever the inspiration, it's bound to be a mysteriously good read!

IVY GET YOUR GUN by Cindy Brown is published by Henery Press Publishing (www.henerypress.com) and available in hardback, softcover, and Kindle editions from www.amazon.com.