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Sunshine, secrets, and swoon-worthy stories—June's featured reads are your perfect summer escape.

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He doesn�t need a woman in his life; she knows he can�t live without her.


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A promise rekindled. A secret revealed. A second chance at the family they never had.


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A cowboy with a second chance. A waitress with a hidden gift. And a small town where love paints a brand-new beginning.


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She�s racing for a prize. He�s dodging romance. Together, they might just cross the finish line to love.


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She steals from the mob for justice. He�s the FBI agent who could take her down�or fall for her instead.


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He�s her only protection. She�s carrying his child. Together, they must outwit a killer before time runs out.


Hung Out to Die

Hung Out to Die, February 2006
Stain-busting Mystery
by Sharon Short

Avon
Featuring: Josie Toadfern
272 pages
ISBN: 0060793244
Paperback
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"What is it with families and trouble?"

Fresh Fiction Review

Hung Out to Die
Sharon Short

Reviewed by Barbara Boehler
Posted June 10, 2006

Mystery Woman Sleuth

Josie Toadfern has a nickname that haunts her to this day. Nosy Josie is what she is known by in her small town, and has haunted her ever since she was in grade school. So what if she is curiously gifted, she has friends, her own business, and Owen, her boyfriend who at this moment away visiting his son. So, when Mamaw Toadfern requests that she comes to Thanksgiving dinner with the family that ostracized her, she begrudgingly goes. Now is if faced not only with the family who wanted nothing to do with her, but also the parents who abandon her when she was two. Stuck between a rock and the hard headed family, Josie try's to make the best of it until a fight breaks out leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Sharon Short's character Josie is quite possibly one of the most likeable characters I have come across. Quirky and a wild imagination leads her into more trouble then what some things are worth. Filled with humor and a family who would drive anyone nuts, this is a wonderful story.

Learn more about Hung Out to Die

SUMMARY

Small-town laundress Josie Toadfern has her own fair share of dirty laundry -- namely the Toadfern clan! Ostracized from the family unit ever since her parents dumped eight-year-old Josie in a local orphanage, the stain-busting dynamo's stunned to find herself invited to crabby old family matriarch "Mamaw" Toadfern's Thanksgiving celebration -- and too curious to refuse. But an even bigger shock is waiting for her there: Josie's long lost mom and pop, blandly unapologetic and full of new -- probably illegal -- get-rich-quick schemes. And when a dead body is tossed into the already explosive chaos of bitter feelings, intra-family feuding, and incinerated turkey meat, Josie finds herself in the most uncomfortable position of having to prove her disreputable dad innocent of murder. But cleaning up messes is Josie's business. And sometimes blood is thicker than cranberry sauce -- and a much more difficult stain to eliminate.


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