Title: Tracking Tilly: Book 1 In The Little Red Truck Mysteries

Author: Janice Thompson

Description:

Who Stole Tilly from the Auction Block? Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book one of a new cozy mystery series. The Hadley family ranch is struggling, so RaeLyn, her parents, and brothers decide to turn the old barn into an antique store. The only thing missing to go with the marketing of the store is Grandpa’s old red truck, Tilly, that was sold several years ago. Now coming back up on the auction block, Tilly would need a lot of work, but RaeLyn is sure it will be worth it—if only she can beat out other bidders and find out who stole Tilly after the auction ends. Hadley finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth, and the outcome could make or break the new family venture.

My impressions: When I first started this book it felt like it might be morphing from a cozy mystery to a romance – like it wasn’t sure of its identity but once I accepted this was more of a romance-mystery, I just settled in for the ride and discovered it was a well-balanced mix.

The characters in this book were very likable, other than the occasional bad apple who wasn’t supposed to be liked. My favorite character was Bessie Mae, main character RaeLyn’s great aunt. She was hilarious and sweet and I absolutely loved what a huge John Wayne fan she was since I am as well.

I loved how the author tied in Bessie Mae’s love of John Wayne by having her offer up quotes in stressful or crossroad moments in the book.  Like:

“And you know what Duke would say…”

“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

Or,

“This is quite the conundrum,” Bessie Mae chimed in. “But you know what the Duke would’ve said.”

“What’s that?” Mom asked.

“Life s just a bowl of cherries, and you happen to be in the pits.”

I also loved how RaeLyn took Bessie Mae along on some of her sleuthing.

I was glad that the romance between RaeLyn and …well, someone (I’ll keep that a secret until you read it) is very natural and sweet and doesn’t overshadow the mystery. It’s in the background and moves forward in a couple of chapters but not to the point of making this book a true romance book. I like a mix of romance and mystery but when the romance takes over a book, I find myself rolling my eyes and wondering where the mystery is already.  

This one did take a bit to get to the mystery but once it did it was the main focus and the vehicle for the readers to meet all of RaeLyn’s friends and family including her mom, dad, three brothers, best friend and her mom’s best friend.

The subtitle says this is the first in the Little Red Truck Mysteries so I am already looking forward to more installments in this series.