On paper, this book really shouldn’t have appealed to me. It’s set in a small town, and I consider any town of less than 100,000 way too small for me. It has a hero who is the town’s sheriff, and – let’s face it – this is a contemporary romance cliché. It also features characters who are horse enthusiasts, rodeo participants, and wearers of Wrangler jeans and cowboy hats (and Rockies, whatever those are). This is not a look (or type) that I find at all appealing. However, I found the title very catchy so I thought I would give the book a try anyway – and I’m glad I did.

Debbie Sue Overstreet seems to be going nowhere. She’s the owner of a gas station turned beauty salon in Salt Lick, Texas, and she can scarcely keep up with the mortgage payments. She has a hunky ex husband (the aforementioned sheriff, Buddy Overstreet) who still isn’t quite out of her system, as well as a hunky and rich rodeo star who’d like to be her next lover. Fortunately, she also has a supportive group of friends and a great mom, who help her pick up the pieces after every disaster (and the book has more than a few).

As the book opens, the richest woman in town – and one of Debbie Sue’s best customers – is found dead. At first it is reported as a suicide, but the canny Debbie Sue knows that couldn’t possibly be right; after all, the dead woman just got eyeliner tattooed on. When the authorities confirm Debbie Sue’s hunch, the whole town is buzzing with the news, and the dead woman’s husband offers a substantial reward to the person who solves the crime. Debbie Sue decides to look into matters, figuring the money would sure help with the bills. Meanwhile, Buddy is officially in charge of finding the killer, and he doesn’t want to blow the case – or admit to state authorities that he can’t handle it.

As Debbie and Buddy each work on the case in their own ways, they run across each other repeatedly, and both of them can’t help thinking about taking up where they left off before their divorce. The divorce came about because Buddy and Debbie Sue just couldn’t see eye to eye on her dangerous rodeo career, and their marriage deteriorated as a result. But after the divorce she changed careers anyway and became a beautician. Buddy’s life changed also. They both date other people during the course of the book, but it’s obvious that they really haven’t moved on.

The plot of this book is fairly meandering. It’s not a straightforward mystery or suspense, although solving the murder does play a significant part in the plot. But there’s a whole lot more going on. Buddy and Debbie Sue both deal with their other relationships and friendships. Both have job concerns as well. Debbie Sue thinks about the crime and pursues possible leads in an offhand, believable way, but in between she is dating, working, gossiping, and thinking about Buddy.

There were several things that particularly worked well in this book, but what really made it enjoyable was the heroine. I had virtually nothing in common with Debbie Sue, but I found her to be real and refreshing. I know many people like her, and I could relate to her. The secret behind this is that although Debbie Sue is in a contemporary romance set in a small town, she’s a Chick Lit heroine in disguise. She dates, thinks about sex (and talks about it with her best friend), and sometimes has a little too much to drink. Oh, and she’s got a potty mouth on her; she knows the f-word, and so does her best friend. Somehow she struck a chord with me. I suppose she just seemed more realistic than the usual small town heroines. Part of it was that she had pretty much always been in Salt Lick, and her observations about the town seemed more genuine than those of the clichéd heroine who has made it big in the city only to come back at some crisis point in her life just in time to marry the sheriff/ex-quarterback who took her to the prom ten years ago.

It’s ironic that Debbie Sue actually does end up with the sheriff, but again, though Buddy’s name practically screams “cliché” he’s anything but. Cash has invested equal time in Buddy’s character, and his career path is rather complicated. Like Debbie Sue, in some ways he’s still figuring out what he’d like to do.

I also particularly enjoyed the humor in this book. The title is more or less a well-chosen tip off that the book has a wry, down-home sensibility. Debbie Sue herself is funny, and her best friend Edwina (who has led one of those been-there-done-that kinds of lives) is a good foil for her. In fact, the fairly wide cast of secondary characters are frequently used for humorous effect. There are some great scenes involving a cross-dressing accountant, and more involving Debbie Sue’s rodeo star boyfriend that are both funny and clever.

I had two fairly small problems with the book. The first is that some of the southern smalltowness is a little over the top. I’ve lived near some small southern towns in my time, and not everyone has a double barreled first name (Debbie Sue, Pearl Ann, etc) or a countrified one (Buddy, Jimmie, Billie etc). I would also think that occasionally people leave their cowboy hats at home. My other problem was that the real romantic payoff for Debbie Sue and Buddy comes quite late in the book; I think some more romance between them would have made the book a stronger one.

That said, I found the humor and characterization very enjoyable. The mystery plot is also fairly well-executed, even if it’s often on the backburner. All in all, it’s well worth reading, even if – like me – you’re a dyed-in-the-wool city dweller. Dixie Cash is definitely a promising new voice in contemporary romance.