Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything by Nancy Martin is the first book in the NEW “Miss Ruffles” mystery series. Publisher: Minotaur, November 2015

Rich and flamboyant Honeybelle Hensley, the most colorful character in Mule Stop, Texas, dies a suspicious death and enrages the whole town by leaving her worldly fortune to the most undeserving recipient-her dog. The incorrigible Miss Ruffles is a Texas Cattle Cur, not a cuddly lapdog, and when Honeybelle was alive, Miss Ruffles liked nothing better than digging up Honeybelle’s famous rose garden after breakfast, chasing off the UPS man before lunch and terrorizing the many gentleman callers who came knocking at cocktail hour.

But now Miss Ruffles is in danger, and it’s up to Sunny McKillip, the unwilling dogsitter, to keep her safe. Sunny is new to Texas, and sometimes she feels as if she’s fallen into an alien world. If it isn’t the pistol-packing football fans and the sweet-talking, yet ruthless ladies of the garden club who confound her, it’s the rowdy rodeo hounds and the tobacco-spitting curmudgeon at Critter Control who have her buffaloed. With a killer on the loose and a cowboy lawyer keeping a suspicious eye on her every move, Sunny needs all the help she can get understanding how Texans think. There’s more to Honeybelle’s death than meets this Yankee’s eye, and Sunny has Miss Ruffles to protect, too. It’s a bucking bull ride of an adventure for Sunny, and if she’s not careful she might just get killed . . . or her heart lassoed.

What a fun book that grabbed my attention immediately and I couldn’t wait to see how this will all end. I liked how the story was presented quickly becoming a page turner as I had to know what happens next and boy was I amused along the way. The humor, the antics, the quirky cast of characters and just being in Texas kept me engaged in all facets in the telling of this fast-paced and action-filled drama. Sunny is a great character and Miss Ruffles just tickled my funny bone. I look forward to more adventures with Sunny and the gang.