I love dogs, I really do. Ask anyone, and they’ll say, “Sunny McKillip loves dogs.” But I never expected to become a governess for a dog. And certainly not for a millionaire dog, which is what happened when Honeybelle Hensley, the most flamboyant woman in Mule Stop, Texas, died and left her considerable fortune to her beloved pet–a lovable, but often obnoxious Texas cattle cur with the unlikely name of Miss Ruffles.
You see, I started out working as Honeybelle’s private secretary, but gradually Honeybelle urged me to take on more duties, and soon I was escorting Miss Ruffles to the football games at the University of the Alamo where she was a kind of team mascot. I also kept her from digging up Honeybelle’s prized roses, and hauled her out of the backyard pool during one of Honeybelle’s lavish garden parties. I took Miss Ruffles running every morning (the only way to make sure she didn’t chew up Honeybelle’s beautiful chintz sofa or her silk-upholstered chairs or break her fancy porcelain collection.) I was trying to teach her some manners, in other words, because Miss Ruffles pretty much ran Honeybelle’s roost. Honeybelle liked her gracious home, but Miss Ruffles did just about everything she could to destroy it.
But then suddenly Honeybelle died. She was sitting pretty as a picture in the front seat of her white convertible as it was parked in front of the Ambiance Salon when she was stricken by a heart attack. Her passing was a shock to the whole town, because Honeybelle was Mule Stop’s the leading citizen, the one who donated the most money to good causes and pestered the town council to put up flower baskets on all the street lamps. She ran the board of the university, too. She wielded a lot of power, in other words. She was a rich widow with many friends. And a surprising number of enemies.
So when she left most of her money to Miss Ruffles . . . a lot of people were furious. What happens when a small dog inherits a large fortune? Well, somebody decided to kidnap Miss Ruffles. And I am the only living person who can rescue her.
Trouble is, I’m from Ohio. And Texas often feels like another planet to me. It’s been a struggle to understand the people and the culture. Take the weather, for one thing. I really must learn to wear a hat before I get broiled by the Texas sun. And the people? They’re all sweet as pie and so polite! But sometimes I get the impression they’d like to pull a six gun on me. In a town where sexy cowboys are also lawyers and bouffant hairdos are still alive and well, I’m struggling to understand this place so I can rescue Miss Ruffles. There’s barbecue and honkytonk dancing to learn. And that lazy way of talking isn’t lazy at all. Let me tell you, honey-voiced ladies can turn into scorpions at the slightest provocation.
And then there’s the whole issue of Honeybelle’s death. Did she have an ordinary heart attack? Or is there something sinister going on in this small Texas town? I’m not sure, but I think it’s time for me to cowgirl up and find out.
You can read more about Sunny and Miss Ruffles in Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything, the first book in the NEW “Miss Ruffles” mystery series, published by Minotaur.
About Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything
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.
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GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment by 12 a.m. eastern on Friday, November 13 for your chance to win a print copy of Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything. (US entries only, please.) Good luck everyone!
About the author
Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything is a new mystery novel from Nancy Martin, author of the bestselling and award-winning Blackbird Sisters mysteries. Nancy has written nearly fifty books in four genres—mystery, suspense, romance and historical, but this is the first time she has ventured south of the Mason-Dixon. Find Nancy on Facebook
“Miss Ruffles” sounds like great fun! as a midwesterner from wisconsin, and a westerner from california, i was confounded by texas and especially texans!
Me, too!
Oh, what fun! This one is going on my must read list! Thanks.
This book sounds delightful! Thank you for introducing me to a new author, and for the giveaway.
myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for another great review. I love Nancy Martin’s books and can’t wait to read this new series. Thanks for the chance to win.
Sounds like a great book.
Sounds like a great book!
Being from Texas, I love books with Texas settings. Thanks for a chance to enter.
Love cozies with animals!
Wow! 😮 Miss Nancy, you have switched things up quite a bit with this new book! I love everything you write about Nora and Roxy, so now I am looking forward to meeting Sunny and of course Miss Ruffles! 🙂 Thanks Dru for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate the opportunity to win a copy of MISS RUFFLES INHERITS EVERYTHING!
This sounds like a wonderful book. I love Nancy’s other series with the Blackbird sisters, so I am very excited to learn all about Sunny. This sounds like an amazing book and just can’t wait to read it. Thank you for the chance Dru!!
What a unique twist for a mystery and also the name of a cattle dog of Miss Ruffles perks my interest. I love Nancy’s other series with the Blackbird sisters so I am sure I will find this one interesting too. robeader53@yahoo.com
This sounds like such a fun story! I just want to jump right in!
A fun twist to a mystery. Sounds interesting.
would love to read it.
thanks.
I love the premise of this book. What fun!
I am glad to hear the book appeals to readers! Good luck in the drawing!
Loved your previous series. This one also sounds great. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
This book sounds so good will have to read this book I love books to read
Looking forward to reading this!
I love dog stories so I’m sure this is a great read.
This is a great read, I pre-ordered and promised myself I would only read a few chapters a day. It was so great, I finished it and I am waiting for the next in the series.
Delightful and special. Thanks.
Sounds like a fun book and the picture of Miss Ruffles is excellent. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
This story sounds like a “hoot” and a fun read. Would love to win a copy and thanks for the opportunity.
This sounds like a fun read! Would love to win a copy of Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything … thank you for the chance.
Pat, I hope you find it a hoot!
Oh, this one sounds like a lot of fun. Love the cover! Looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
You have me thinking back on some of my early jobs . . . which may have had difficult moments, but never a suspicious death . . . grateful. <3
This really sounds like fun.
I’ve been thinking about leaving my “fortune” to my cats. this sounds like a good book.
Sounds like fun .My type of book,
Oh, this sounds like so much fun, thanks for the chance to win.
Fun is my purpose! Good luck to everyone! And thanks, Dru!
Sounds like a fun book.
This book sounds great and fun. Thanks for the giveaway.
Giddy-Up…..Woo Hoo! This sounds like an awesome fun book!!! I love, love, love the adorable cover on it!!!! Thanks so much Dru for the chance to win!!!! Love reading the first book of a new series……can’t wait!!!!
This looks like such a cute book. I’d love to read it!
I think this will be another terrific series by Nancy. Thanks for the chance to win.
This sounds like a really good series. I love the BlackBird Sisters mysteries. Ms. Martin has a wicked sense of humor and I expect it is hard at work in this new series.
This sounds really cute, the kind of a series I’d like to start.
Sounds like an interesting premise for a new series. Thanks for the chance to win!
Miss Ruffles sounds a little different from the usual cozy mystery dog—I think it will be fun to follow her.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Wow, over 50 books. I guess I better get reading. I have only a couple so far, but I really like to begin at the beginning so this series is perfect.
This cover cracks me up!!!!
Thank you for the giveaway….
Thanks Nancy for commenting.
Contest is closed.