Rating: 
Summary: Light hearted romance
Review: After purchasing and reading Full House which Janet Evanovich rewrote with Charlotte Hughes' help, I thought I would check this book out. I liked it pretty well. The main character, Frankie, was entertaining and funny. I had a hard time buying the premise that sets up the novel though. Frankie gets caught sleeping with her married partner who happens to be the police chief's son-in-law. As a result, she is sent to SmallTown, USA. It seemed to me that Ms. Hughes spent the whole book trying to convince us that Frankie, who was dumb enough to believe the cliche about the married man getting a divorce, was smart and savvy about everything else. Other than that, I liked the book. The secondary characters were suitably zany, and fish out of water stories, if done well, can be lots of fun. This is good escape reading, and if you can overlook a few minor flaws, the book will leave you with a smile.
Rating:
Summary: exciting police procedural romance
Review: Atlanta police detective Francis "Frankie" Daniels throws her hard earned career away when she is caught in bed with her married partner Jim Connors. The incident would have gone away except the father of three happens to be the son-in-law of the police commissioner. Knowing she made a mistake though she was vulnerable when she performed the act, Frankie agrees to go into exile accepting a job on the Purdyville, South Carolina police force.Her arrival in the small town starts off bad when her rental is burned to the ground by arson. It goes worse when she mouths off not knowing that the listener is her new boss, Police Chief Matt Webber. It finally culminates in her beating up Willie Jack Pitts, a womanizer who tries to paw her. As Matt and Frankie fall in love, they investigate the murder of Willie Jack even as she rejects the courtship of the Chief since she believes he is a womanizer just like Jim is. HOT SHOT is an exciting police procedural romance that never slows down especially when Frankie takes the small town by storm. The story line is fast-paced with an engaging investigation. Matt is a strong lead protagonist and the support cast provides a feel for small town Southern living. Though readers will admire Frankie's courage and dedication, they will insist that Charlotte Hughes place her on decaf if she ever returns to Purdyville in future novels. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, taut suspense that is not to be missed!
Review: Detective Frances 'Frankie' Daniels is REALLY having one of those lives. She's been called on the carpet for fraternizing with the police commissioner's son-in-law (hey, he told her he was getting a divorce!), and given no option other than to accept a job on small town police force in Purdyville, South Carolina. To a big city girl like Frankie, this is the backwoods of nowhere. But with the choices she's given-none-she packs her things, and heads to Nowhere, U. S. A. Frankie arrives in Purdeyville, only to see the small house she had rented reduced to ash. Could this get any worse? Sheriff Matt Webber is stunned when the pretty little woman jumps out of her car and starts ranting and raving, and demanding answers. Deciding to play the good 'ole boy to the hilt, he lets her go on and on. Only when she starts going on about her new job on the Hicksville police force, Matt's co-hort, the Fire Marshall, feels he has to give her a heads up. Frankie has just insulted her new boss. Matt's curious about what brought the pretty little detective to such a small town, but she's not forth coming with answers. Deciding that he'll give her the benefit of the doubt, he helps her find a place to stay, and tells her he'll definitely give her a chance on his force. Wow! The sparks start to fly from the instant Matt and Frankie meet, and don't let up for one second. Frankie continually finds herself in situations where she has to be the 'tough' broad, but we also get to see the inner turmoil she has going on. Matt senses the soft heart that Frankie has, and doesn't let her smoking, cussing, and just acting the tough broad turn him off. He's drawn to Frankie in a way he's never been drawn to another.
We see their relationship develop at the perfect pace, and feel all the emotions with them. Miss Hughes has penned not only an incredible romance, but a hilarious one as well! I couldn't wait to turn the pages to see what Frankie would get up to next, and the secondary characters are a definite enhancement to the story line, adding to both the humor and the romance. I thought to myself how will she make us like this heroine? I not only found myself rooting for Frankie, but loving her for the strength she has built through out her life. This story is a must for not only contemporary fans, but suspense fans as well! This was an all nighter-you won't be able to put this down, and will definitely find a place for it on your keeper shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Have An Affair, You Will Get Caught
Review: For Frankie Daniels, life was just hell. After an affair that does not go well, she is 'relocated' to Purdyville, North Carolina, AKA the middle of nowhere. On her first night there, the town hick tries to get her to come home with him and she flat out refuses. Not accustomed to being told no, Willie Jack, he's the hick, follows Frankie out to the parking lot and tries to attack her. Frankie and Willie Jack become instant enemies after she beats the tar out of him.
Not liking the fact that a woman beat him up, he runs off and hides until the benefit barbecue that occurs a few chapters later.
Basic outline:
the crime rate in Purdyville is very low, that is until Frankie shows up
She tells off her new boss when she finds her rental home in flames
Frankie threatens to quit several times within the first few chapters because she believes that she will die of boredom in what she calls a one-horse town
And she always complains about how little action there is compared to the streets of Atlanta
All in all a good read and full of Romantic Comedy
Rating:
Summary: Don't Have An Affair, You Will Get Caught
Review: For Frankie Daniels, life was just hell. After an affair that does not go well, she is 'relocated' to Purdyville, North Carolina, AKA the middle of nowhere. On her first night there, the town hick tries to get her to come home with him and she flat out refuses. Not accustomed to being told no, Willie Jack, he's the hick, follows Frankie out to the parking lot and tries to attack her. Frankie and Willie Jack become instant enemies after she beats the tar out of him.
Not liking the fact that a woman beat him up, he runs off and hides until the benefit barbecue that occurs a few chapters later.
Basic outline:
the crime rate in Purdyville is very low, that is until Frankie shows up
She tells off her new boss when she finds her rental home in flames
Frankie threatens to quit several times within the first few chapters because she believes that she will die of boredom in what she calls a one-horse town
And she always complains about how little action there is compared to the streets of Atlanta
All in all a good read and full of Romantic Comedy
Rating: 
Summary: 1/2* Didn't do it for me...
Review: Frankie Daniels has spent her life trying to live up to the legacy her father left her as a police officer. She is crusing along just fine until a scandal involving a married man gets her reassigned to Hickville, USA. As a native of Atlanta, Frankie is unprepared for the low crime rate that Purdyville has. Soon she realizes that though the crime might be low, it is the people of the town that is important. Matt Webber has never met anyone like Frankie. She has a mouth like a sailor and a body to die for, but doesn't seem to realize it. Soon Matt realizes that he will do anything to prove to Frankie that she belongs in Purdyville, and with him. As a heroine, I enjoyed Frankie immensely. I didn't think that there was enough from the story from Matt's point of view. We were left open ended with Matt's parents and I think that Frankie reversed her opinion on relationships too quickly to have it be believeable. I just didn't feel like it was realistic how soon she decided that she was going to open herself up again. I did enjoy this book, but it was one that I could put down.
Rating:
Summary: 1/2* Didn't do it for me...
Review: Frankie Daniels has spent her life trying to live up to the legacy her father left her as a police officer. She is crusing along just fine until a scandal involving a married man gets her reassigned to Hickville, USA. As a native of Atlanta, Frankie is unprepared for the low crime rate that Purdyville has. Soon she realizes that though the crime might be low, it is the people of the town that is important. Matt Webber has never met anyone like Frankie. She has a mouth like a sailor and a body to die for, but doesn't seem to realize it. Soon Matt realizes that he will do anything to prove to Frankie that she belongs in Purdyville, and with him. As a heroine, I enjoyed Frankie immensely. I didn't think that there was enough from the story from Matt's point of view. We were left open ended with Matt's parents and I think that Frankie reversed her opinion on relationships too quickly to have it be believeable. I just didn't feel like it was realistic how soon she decided that she was going to open herself up again. I did enjoy this book, but it was one that I could put down.
Rating: 
Summary: When The Hero and Heroine Aren't Equal
Review: Frankie Daniels is a supposedly tough city detective who is sent to work in a small town,much to her humiliation. The first night she is there she beats up the town bully, much to everyone's delight. However, she is not allowed to remain tough for long. Every woman she meets sets about feminising her, making her buy satin underwear, teaching her to wear makeup or cook or something, by the end of the book she is so completely feminine that she is worrying about what to wear for a date with her dishy boss Matt Webber, isn't that cute? Reading this book is like watching one of those ghastly musicals like Annie Get Your Gun or Calamity Jane, in which a tomboy heroine is prettified and domesticated to make her fit to associate with men. What was wrong with Frankie the way she was? Why does she have to be transformed into a painted perfumed tart? This book made me nauseous. Frankie's supposed toughness is entirely unconvincing anyway, she's about as tough as marshmallow, Stephanie Plum looks like Rambo by comaprison.
Rating:
Summary: The feminisation of Frankie
Review: Frankie Daniels is a supposedly tough city detective who is sent to work in a small town,much to her humiliation. The first night she is there she beats up the town bully, much to everyone's delight. However, she is not allowed to remain tough for long. Every woman she meets sets about feminising her, making her buy satin underwear, teaching her to wear makeup or cook or something, by the end of the book she is so completely feminine that she is worrying about what to wear for a date with her dishy boss Matt Webber, isn't that cute? Reading this book is like watching one of those ghastly musicals like Annie Get Your Gun or Calamity Jane, in which a tomboy heroine is prettified and domesticated to make her fit to associate with men. What was wrong with Frankie the way she was? Why does she have to be transformed into a painted perfumed tart? This book made me nauseous. Frankie's supposed toughness is entirely unconvincing anyway, she's about as tough as marshmallow, Stephanie Plum looks like Rambo by comaprison.
Rating:
Summary: When The Hero and Heroine Aren't Equal
Review: Frankie Daniels is an Atlanta police detective who has an affair with her partner. Her rationale: he told her he was separated. In reality, he's married with three kids, something she knows already. Even worse: he's the police commissioner's son-in-law. We're supposed to have respect for a woman with such poor judgment that she doesn't wait to see if the ink on the divorce paper is dry before she jumps into bed with him? I tried to swallow my unease when this tidbit of Frankie's fouled up life is dropped on me. Okay, the writer is going for deeply flawed. I don't need nor want perfection with my characters. I want them to blunder now and then, to be unreasonable or make mistakes, because that's how we all are. We've been in those shoes before, and trust me, they're a perfect fit more often than any of us want to admit. I figured once Frankie was transferred out of Atlanta and foisted off on a small town police department in North Carolina that her personality would even out, we'd see some of her better qualities shining through. I could believe the chain smoking, the addiction to coffee, and even the mouth on her that spewed filth like a garbage truck vomiting up its load at the end of a long, hot summer day. What I couldn't get behind was the writer's wish to sell Frankie as a smart, observant, top notch detective who was worth her weight in gold to any police department lucky to have her. Look, it's hard enough to find books about women where they are not written as stupid nits, but it hurts more when a female writer writes them stupid and thinks it makes the character flawed in some way. Flawed, yes, by all means make them flawed, but flawed in a way that does not translate into stupid. Frankie blithely goes about alienating everyone in her path, because you see, she's had a hard life, what with her daddy dying in the line of duty when she's a kid and her momma being a genteel Southern lady who spends too much time looking for a man to take care of her while she sips her cooking sherry from a fruit jar. Frankie's the way she is because she's learned not to rely on anyone else, that she has to be tough, and that she somehow has to live up to her daddy's legendary reputation as a cop. Oh, honey, get off the cross, someone else needs the wood. I'd buy all this if your creator hadn't made you stumble through every interaction with the hero. I'd be happy to commiserate with the bad hand you were dealt if your creator had given you a shred of dignity by not making you the comic sidekick, while making the hero so nearly perfect I wanted him to fail at something, no matter how petty and vindictive that made me. But, no, Frankie marches through the book making snap judgments, riling people left and right, and generally being a horse's ass, that by the book's end all I could do was sigh with relief and giggle at the magical way all the plots were tied up with a big shiny bow! Even more annoying for me was the hero's belief that these two could engage in an affair and no one would be the wiser, and then not understanding Frankie's anger when colleagues do find out and smirk at her. None of them would dare smirk at the hero, as he's the police chief, so yeah, he's insulated from the crap Frankie ends up wading through. Does this soften my opinion of Frankie any? Well, no. She's tossed out of one police department for sleeping with her partner, and then takes up with the police chief within a month of being on her new job. I really wanted to know why someone didn't just tattoo STUPID on her forehead. If you're looking for sexy, smart, and a heroine who shares equal space on the page with the hero, don't read this book.
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