The Barefoot Summer

CAROLYN BROWN

Goodreads synopsis: Leaving one widow behind is unfortunate. Leaving three widows behind is just plain despicable. Oil heiress Kate Steele knew her not-so-dearly departed husband was a con man, but she’s shocked that Conrad racked up two more wives without divorcing her first. The only remnant of their miserable marriage she plans to keep is their lakeside cabin in Bootleg, Texas. Unfortunately, she’s not the only woman with that idea.

Fiery, strong-willed Jamie wishes Conrad were still alive—so she could kill the scoundrel herself. But for their daughter’s sake, she needs that property. As does Amanda—twenty-eight, pregnant, and still weeping over the loss of her true love. On a broiling July day, all three arrive in Bootleg…with a dogged detective right behind who’s convinced that at least one of them conspired to commit murder. One momentous summer filled with revelations, quirky neighbors, and barefoot evenings on the porch offers three women the chance to make the journey from enemies to friends, and claim a bright, new beginning.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Montlake Romance, 2017.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Black showed respect for the dead, so Kate Steele wore red to her husband's funeral that Saturday.

My thoughts: I enjoy Carolyn Brown's cowboy romances (esp. LOVE DRUNK COWBOY!), but had not read any of her non-cowboy stories, so when this came up as an Amazon suggestion I preordered it. Turns out the police detective is also a rancher, so there was still a hint of cowboy in the book.

Kate, Jamie and Amanda meet at their husband's funeral. Kate, the first wife, who refused to give Conrad a divorce. Jamie, the second wife, who has a young daughter and is just angry. And Amanda, the third wife, pregnant, still in the honeymoon phase and devastated to lose Conrad. After the funeral, they each, separately decide to retreat to Conrad's lake house, and once there, they each refuse to leave. So they settle into life as roommates while waiting for Conrad's property division to be worked out. Jamie thinks her daughter should inherit the lake house, as Conrad's daughter, and Amanda wants it for herself.

Ms. Brown is always good at creating realistic and individual characters. At first the women is just civil to each other, for the most part. But as they get to know each other, reluctant friendships start to form. And then there's Waylon, the detective, who keeps popping up to ask questions and remind the three women that they're all suspects in Conrad's death.

The mystery of Conrad's murder and the investigation into it were more of a background plot, as other than asking the women questions we didn't really see Waylon doing much detecting. But I didn't really mind. The three women coming to grips with and developing relationships with each other, including Jamie's little girl, Gracie, was the heart of the story. I loved seeing them reexamine their lives, especially Kate.

As with a previous Brown book, my only complaint is that the characters all talk without using contractions, which feels stiff and unnatural to me. But once my brain adjusted and began automatically inserting the contractions for me, it didn't bother me as much.

Fun, as Ms. Brown's books always are, and heartwarming story that kept me up late a couple of nights.