Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes: Rose Gardner Mystery #1

Denise Grover Swank

Dec 2014 · Rose Gardner Mystery Book 1 · DGS

About this ebook

First book in the New York Times , Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery series.

For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn't enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.

Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen-- do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own.

Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.

Ratings and reviews

There's a story line you can enjoy and there's romance... little clues get you to guess stuff while keeping you a little bit wondering as well :) and I really got involved with the main character during the first chapters as she was figuring herself out. Gradually, she becomes quite normal or you get along with her being a bit different (not sure which one :D) It's an easy nice read w/o much drama :)

Two and a half stars would be about right. Where all the 5 star reviews come from, I don't know. If this was supposed to be a thriller then it was very lightweight. If it was supposed to be funny then it missed the mark too. But, it was free so it's difficult to complain too much. But that doesn't excuse the typos - didn't anyone proof read the draft before publishing? And as for the dog - if anyone knows of another dog who understands guns please let me know, it will help with one of the many gaping flaws in the story. Would I read anything else by this author? Sorry, no, it was just far too simplistic and predictable. As for all the 5 star reviews, let's just say I'm dubious.

Buying into the premise of the heroine's visions is the easiest part of the story. Believing any of the rest of it is headache inducing. One-dimensional characters fill the pages. Saying it's trashy is an insult to the much less trashy novels overwhelming this genre.

About the author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank has released over thirty novels and novellas and has sold over two million books. She writes mysteries with romance, humorous romance, light-hearted young adult romance, and urban fantasy. She lives in Blue Springs, Missouri with her three naughty dogs and six imaginative children. You can find out more about Denise at www.denisegroverswank.com.