South Of Sanity (Hannah Garvey Mysteries #2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Suzann Ledbetter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Kinderhook County, Missouri, present day

Sensuality rating: 5

Fasten your seatbelts; Suzann Ledbetter's South of Sanity is a wild ride! This sequel to East of Peculiar features the same quirky cast of characters, including the spunky band of senior citizens from Valhalla Springs retirement community. Readers should consider themselves duly warned when the felonies start adding up on the first page. Fast-paced and funny, this creative model of romantic suspense takes no prisoners and won't let you go until you've turned the last page and discovered once and for all: Will Hannah Garvey, resident manager for Valhalla Springs, ever get it on with Sheriff David Hendrickson? Who's responsible for the recent murders? Will Hannah and David ever get it on? Will Hannah's boss's mother continue to dispense her "medicinal" marijuana brownies at her biweekly bridge club? Will David be tried and convicted for a crime he didn't commit? Will Hannah and David ever put each other--and us--out of their misery and just do it already!? With another sequel, North of Clever, due out in December 2001, the surprises are guaranteed to keep on coming! --Alison Trinkle

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551667975
• ISBN-13: 978-1551667973
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Suzann's mother taught her to read at age four, assuming a tomboy couldn't have her nose in a book and get into trouble, simultaneously. It didn't work, but somehow, Suzann's insatiable curiosity, smarty-pants mouth, tendency to make up stuff and love of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden novels became the basis of a diverse writing career.

Suzann (www.SuzannLedbetter.com) is a Writers Hall of Fame of America inductee and received a Western Writers of America Spur Award for her biography, NELLIE CASHMAN, PROSPECTOR & TRAILBLAZER. Suzann was an editor-at-large for Family Circle magazine for over a decade and is a client of Greater Talent Network, an international talent agency.

In April 2006, Suzann's short story "How To Murder Your Mother-in-Law" will appear in Avon's DEADLY HOUSEWIVES anthology. May marks publication of her latest suspense/caper, ONCE A THIEF (Mira) and in August, SHADY LADIES, a biographical collection of 19th century nonconformists is due out from Tor/Forge.

Suzann and her husband share their Missouri Ozarks home with three retired racing greyhounds, two morbidly obese cats and way-more books than the children's library her mom hoped would tame the ornery streak Suzann allegedly inherited from her father's side of the gene pool.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars South of Sanity; North of Nuts!, April 16, 2001

By 

Kay Lewis - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Of Sanity (Hannah Garvey Mysteries #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

What a fun, madcap cast of senior citizens! Take the phone off the hook, bar the door and prepare to delve into one of the most entertaining books to come around in a very long time! If I could find a retirement community full of craziness and lovable characters like this, I'd be scouting it out now!

Oh, did I mention the wonderful, wacky inhabitants of Valhalla Springs aren't the main focal point of this book? They may remain in your memory long after you've read another 20 books or so, but we're actually supposed to be basically involved with the heroine, Hannah Garvey...the resident manager of Valhalla Springs and our hero, Sheriff David Hendrickson. A proper romance between the two just doesn't seem to get going well without help from the hilarious group of seniors.

I hadn't even heard of this book....just picked it up on a whim and thank goodness I did! Now, if only I had known at the time that there was a book proceeding it, "East of Peculiar" which I had to run right out and buy. (And am in the middle of enjoying right now.) And the good news! A third in the series, "North of Clever" is due out in December! I just found this out by reading the reviews, which I should have done to start with! Where oh where has Susan Ledbetter been and why have I never found her before? What a fun, fun mind this author has!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refresing fun read!, September 5, 2001

By 

J Morgan "Writer/Reader" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Of Sanity (Hannah Garvey Mysteries #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Suzan Ledbetter's South of Sanity is a delightful, easy read. The characters are charming: a sexy Sheriff David Hendrickson, quirky old-agers and townspeople, wacky senior citizen sleuths IdaClare and Delbert, and Hannah Garvey, a 40-something advertising agency dynamo who leaves Chicago's hustle and bustle to manage Valhalla Springs, an exclusive retirement community in the Missouri Ozarks. Even the pets are memorable, a mutt named Malcolm and a rottweiler named Rambo.

The dialogue's incredible with the vivid mental pictures it evokes. Some of the scenes will have you laughing out loud. The prose can sometimes require a re-read because its breeziness is confusing, but it's saucy and funny.

The mystery plot's good with a not-too-obvious twist. The romantic tense great! The rich blend of humor, romance, mystery, and danger with the author's sense of humor provides the reader with non-stop reading enjoyment.

Can't wait to read East of Peculiar, the first of the series, and North of Clever, the sequel, when it comes out. Suzan Ledbetter has me hooked on this series. Her style is fast, refreshing, and hilariously funny. Great entertainment!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wacky, but Loveable!, March 20, 2001

By 

paula_k_98 "paula_k_98" (Muskogee, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: South Of Sanity (Hannah Garvey Mysteries #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not real sure what I just read, however, it was fun while the ride lasted. South of Sanity might have been better named South of Insanity. There is a wonderful cast of eccentric characters that keeps this story moving. Apparently this is the second book out of two with recurring characters. Now I've got to track down the first book and wait until December 2001 for the third.

Hannah Garvey has given up a high-powered job with an advertising agency to take over as resident manager for an exclusive retirement community. You might think a book featuring secondary characters from a retirement community as dull, but these characters would give any gang of teenagers a run for their money on the amount of trouble they can stir up, mostly just by trying to be helpful. Sheriff David Hendrick has the hots for Hannah. They are very aware of each other and very attracted to each other. They finally, after a few mishaps, get together for their first date. Naturally nothing goes right and Hannah ends up going with the Sheriff to answer a police call. The call goes bad and the Sheriff ends up suspended, possibly on trial for murder. The gang, from the retirement community, decides to help matters along by investigating and clearing the way for Hannah and the Sheriff to get it together.

This was one funny book. There's romance, suspense, and a lot of comic relief. I kept wondering what in the world I had bought to read-I know now. I bought a terrific book with a wonderful cast of characters.