Sandy M’s review of Shut Up & Kiss Me by Christie Craig
Contemporary Romance published by Lovespell 25 May 10

Where most authors pull me into a story with a tortured hero or a tragic heroine, Christie Craig reels me in with humor. In SU&KM, it’s the hero, when he grins and winks at the heroine during one of those you’ve-got-to-be-kidding moments, who had me laughing and grinning too and who let me know I was in for a terrific read.

Shala has been hired by Precious, Texas to do her magic to get the quaint Native American town hopping again, so it doesn’t end up a ghost town. Knowing tourism is the way to go, she’s been snapping pics in the few days she’s been there. At an official powwow, however, her camera is confiscated when one of the dancers thinks she snapped a photo, which is expressly forbidden. Ticked off and ready for a fight to get her equipment back, Shala tracks down the would-be thief at his home, where nothing goes her way.

Determined to uphold the letter of the law, Sky Gomez is holding Shala’s Nikon hostage for the maximum sentence possible, despite the woman intriguing the hell out of him in the way she scoured the town to find him. She’s now threatening to call the police, but he knows for a fact the local sheriff is off duty. Makes no never-mind to Shala as she dials 911. This is when Sky sends Shala that  incredulous grin and wink.

And I laughed out loud when his phone rings and he’s talking to the police dispatcher as she has Shala on hold to contact the sheriff. Such a terrific beginning scene between these two, which leads to a lot more before the danger begins.

Not long after their banter escalates in fun and frequency, attempts that seem like accidents are made on Shala’s life and break-ins occur to gain access to her camera. Sky puts it all together that she must have something on film that someone doesn’t want revealed. Feelings also escalate as Sky and Shala work together to find out who and what’s behind these sudden murder attempts.

We also get a couple of side stories with Sky’s foster father and sister, both fun and touching as their relationships are interspersed with Sky and Shala’s. I enjoyed each of these characters, especially Jose. LOL, the poor man goes through hell coming back home. But those are some of the best and funniest scenes in the book.

I know with every Christie Craig book I’m going to be happy when I read it and that feeling stays with me for some time after I get through with it. As good as she is when it comes to weaving a mystery into her books, it’s her humor I look forward to. She’s never let me down once. So, come one, get happy, read a Christie Craig so I can say, “I told you so.”

Grade: A+

Summary:

WELCOME TO PRECIOUS, TEXAS…where fistfights serve as dinner theater and fire ants rain from the sky. The locals are usually very friendly, if a bit eccentric. No pictures please, or you may find yourself a guest of the county morgue.

Photojournalist Shala Winters already had her hands full bringing tourism to this backward, podunk little town, but her job just got tougher. Pictures can say a thousand words, and one of Shala’s is screaming bloody murder. Now she has to entrust a macho, infuriating lawman with her life—but she’ll never trust him with her heart.

Trusted or not, Sky Gomez isn’t about to let a killer get his hands on Shala’s Nikon—or any of her more comely assets, for that matter. Her mouth might move faster than a Piney Woods roadrunner, but all he can think about is how good it must taste…and how she’ll never escape true love.

Read an excerpt. (scroll down)