“Who Would Set the New B&B Ablaze?
Breathe in the nostalgia of everything old red truck in book two of this cozy mystery series.
In Mabank, Texas, the Hadley family’s new antique business is open and running well with Tilly, the red antique truck, as its mascot. RaeLyn Hadley enjoys driving Grandpa’s truck around as she seeks out antiques for her family’s store.
RaeLyn is excited that her friend, Tasha, will soon open a new bed-and-breakfast inn to accommodate the area’s growing tourism, but a fire threatens to spoil all Tasha has worked for.
RaeLyn immediately gets to work sleuthing out who could be behind such an act of sabotage. Could it be the nearby resort owner, the daughter of the house’s former owner; a neighbor, or a squatter who had been living in the house before renovations? RaeLyn is determined to solve the mystery for her friend.”
Series: Book #2 in “The Little Red Truck Mysteries” series. Book #1 Here!
Spiritual Content- Psalm 68:6 at the beginning and mentioned throughout the book; A few Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & thought over; Church going & Sunday School classes; Talks about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayer, praying, Thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, Sunday school classes, pastors and teachers, sermons and lessons, services; Mentions of different denominations (Baptist, Methodist, and The Assembly of God); A few mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A few mentions of Christianity & faiths; A few mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of worship songs & hymns; A few mentions of church camps; A couple mentions of angels; A mention of a missionary; A mention of godly people; A mention of a man being a good Samaritan; A mention of a seminary school;
*Note: A member on the deacon board at RaeLyn’s church was found out to have been cheating on his wife in the prior book and steps down from being on the board in this book (RaeLyn later thinks that the man’s faith was “put-on” (fake)); A couple mentions of Pandora’s box; A teasing mention of someone living “a million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth”; A mention of someone having a god-complex.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘for the love of all that’s holy’, an ‘oh my gosh’, two ‘dumb’s, two ‘oh my stars’s, four ‘duh’s, four ‘gosh’s, and five ‘good grief’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A couple mentions of graffiti with expletives & social media posts with vile language (not written out); RaeLyn catches herself being a gossip and feels small; Many mentions of break-ins, trespassing, vandalism, & threats; Mentions of deaths (including from sicknesses, cancer, a drowning, a work-related accident, and a car accident) & grieving (including for parents, a father, husbands, a wife, and a young son who drowned); Mentions of a toddler drowning (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of wars, drafts, injuries, & deaths; Mentions of crimes, criminals, & thieves, & stolen cars; Mentions of arrests & jail; Mentions of scams; Mentions of a homeless man squatting on someone’s land; Mentions of divorces (including a messy one currently happening); Mentions of foreclosures; Mentions of a woman trying to mooch off her family (including a dying stepmother); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of cocktails; A few mentions of restraining orders; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of a man having a father who bullied him growing up; A few mentions of an alcohol addiction, being sober, & AA; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of betting; A mention of a barroom brawl; A mention of someone who was trapped in a liquor store never being the same again; A mention of eavesdropping;
*Note: RaeLyn’s mother doesn’t care for the girl one of her sons is dating because of her being divorced (and who she was married to); Mentions of brand names, items, & places (Louis Vuitton, Blue Bell ice cream, iPad, WD-40, Pizza Hut, Walmart, Brookshire Brothers, & Dairy Queen); Mentions of car brands; Mentions of social media platforms (YouTube & Facebook); Mentions of celebrities (John Wayne, Annie Oakley, James Dean, & the Gabor sisters); Mentions of a movie/play (Annie Get Your Gun); A few mentions of TV shows (Hoarders); A few mentions of a singer & song (Hank Williams); A mention of someone needing to go to counseling to get to the core of his motivations (someone says this about him); A mention of Girl Scouts; A mention of a book (Les Miserables); A man is called an “old fart”.
Sexual Content- Three cheek kisses, a nose kiss, two forehead/hair kisses, two not-detailed kisses, and six barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of a man cheating on his wife, leaving her for the other woman (they are separated and getting a divorce now), him living with the other woman (which a character calls brazen because of his former status on the deacon board at a church), & there being little nice to say about the new woman (on this, RaeLyn doesn’t understand how he can act like it is normal to go around town with the other woman when his divorce is not final); Mentions of a couple that were already expecting when they got married and people in town being cruel with their gossip about it (*Spoiler* This was Bessie Mae’s high school sweetheart after he got back from fighting in the Korean War and *Major Spoilers* despite rumors and assumptions, the baby wasn’t his, but his best friend who was killed in action and saved his life *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of dates, dating, & boyfriends/girlfriends; Mentions of crushes, blushes, & flirting; Mentions of handsome men; A few mentions of couples kissing & holding hands; A few mentions of jealousy; A mention of a woman having a son, but never being married; A mention of an unmarried couple visiting a hotel together; A mention of someone having the hots for another; Light love, being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: A handful of mentions of a woman’s low-cut blouse (which RaeLyn finds awkward), a low-cut dress, & the woman wearing an “over-the-top” Statue of Liberty costume that features “way too much cleavage” (it’s noted that even the menfolk are avoiding her).
-RaeLyn Hadley, age 26
1st person P.O.V. of RaeLyn
256 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I haven’t read too many books set around the Fourth of July, so it was really fun to have that element in this plot! Even if you aren’t American, this book just has a lovely summer feel to it that can be enjoyable without the nostalgic holiday events.
While I see bits of myself in RaeLyn, she did have a few moments that made me disappointed in her—particularly her negative thoughts about another character who is “down on his luck”, so to say, and thinking he is the vandal—that said, her thoughts could be accurate, however, because it’s sometimes hard to tell the vibe a person gives off over text rather than in person. I wish she hadn’t jumped to conclusions about him, though, especially as Mason was trying to help the guy. Everything works out and she learns a lesson about not judging a book by its cover, but I hope it sticks for the next book and maybe that she won’t jump to conclusions as much!
Speaking of Mason, after finishing the first book, I wasn’t sure what to think about him and was curious to see my thoughts on him after reading this book. The verdict? I liked him a lot more in this sequel. He balances RaeLyn out more as like I said above, she can be a bit quick to be judgmental and he is determined to see the best in everyone. I really liked the ending and can’t wait to read the next book after certain events happened in this book!
I might be a wee bit biased about enjoying this book so much—it is by one of my favorite authors, after all—but I also love the Scripture that is highlighted throughout the book, Psalm 68:6, about God setting the lonely in families.
Big, close families might have their messy moments and small town life might be messy with drama, but this series has highlighted it in a lot of humorous—and some thought provoking—ways. I would say I actually liked this book more than the first book in the series because I really liked how the ending worked out. I definitely suggest reading this series in order as it mentions the prior book’s events pretty often. Because of mentions of affairs/cheating, I would also suggest this series for older teens, but this one has less about that than the first book.
The ending had me doing happy sighs and then squeeing in delight—I’m truly looking forward to the third (and final!) book in the series that will be releasing in September!
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Barbour) for this honest review.
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