Someone finally went and dunnit! Combined my life long loves of musical theater and mystery fiction, that is. This was my first adventure with aspiring actress and fledgling PI Ivy Meadows. It seems an unlikely combination of career choices, but surprisingly it works. Ivy isn’t one of those with-it, millennial career type women, she is just an everyday Jill with a load of to do’s on her plate and strong sense of family obligation.

In this book, she is auditioning for the a big time role, that she suddenly finds maybe not so fulfilling after learning a bit of history about the character. Meanwhile both her acting and PI skills are being put to the test by a pug on the lam (who could be partying with in crowd or lunch for the local predators) and the mystery of what should be an impossible accidental shooting death at a seemingly ill fated ghost town amusement park that could be closing its saloon doors before they ever swing open. Along the way to solving her mysteries she runs into rumors of ancient family feuds, mob connections and eco-terrorism none and all of which seem like likely scenarios as she roams the Arizona desert battling reptiles, quicksand and a quirky mule, all with a gun on her hip and song on her lips. Luckily, she has a strong supporting cast of family and close friends to fall back on.

This was enjoyable read. I had no trouble reading it as a stand alone and it made me want to dive in and read the rest of the series.

We're back in an Ivy Meadows Mystery with Cindy Brown's <em>Ivy Get Your Gun</em>. This time Ivy takes to the road for some out-of-town acting work, but she can't escape the need to solve a mystery.

The character of Ivy Meadows (aka Olive Ziegwart) is really growing now that we're in this, her fourth mystery tale. She's out of town, working at the Gold Bug Gulch in Arizona where she's hoping for the role of "Annie" in <em>Annie Get Your Gun</em>. But of course Ivy wants people to know the real Annie, and not the phony character from the play. Which could be a problem since the director just wants some flashy entertainment.

But when Ivy gets to Gold Bug Gulch she immediately gets caught up in a missing persons ... er... animal case. A local pug named "Lassie" has run off with a pack of wild Chihuahuas and the owner fears that the wild coyotes will grab her. If only that were the worst of things to happen at the gulch.... An actor by the name of Mongo is killed during a 'fake' shootout when someone swaps the blanks for real bullets. Ivy goes undercover and channels as much of Annie Oakley as she can to get to heart of the mystery.

This was a great step for Ivy ... to get away from her uncle (even though she gets in touch with him a few times) and really be on her own as an investigator. We needed to see her step up and we did. But we also see her grow a little in personality. She's still eager, enthusiastic, and reactive, but she appears to be stopping and thinking a little more. Her research into the real Annie Oakley, to prepare for her audition, also shows a maturity in theatre that we haven't seen before this as well.

But the maturity does not come at the expense of the fun. Author Cindy Brown keeps the entertainment level high while also making a stronger mystery. My only 'complaint' here is that I didn't feel that the unraveling of the mystery was smooth enough. Too much came all at once, though we were being distracted along the way to notice it. It was only after, while thinking about what happened, that I wished I'd had a few more hints along the way.

I work in professional theatre and have for much of my career and it is so nice to read a story that incorporates theatre so well. Cindy Brown clearly has experience in the theatre world beyond a small-town community theatre. I greatly look forward to the next Ivy Meadows mystery.

Looking for a good book? <em>Ivy Get Your Gun</em> is the fourth installment in the Ivy Meadows Mystery series by Cindy Brown and it's a fun-filled, humorous mystery worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy Meadows is such a fun character and a great protagonist. This books at me laughing and going "gasp" in both the same paragraph I loved it.

Ivy Meadows, an actress and part-time PI who lives in Arizona, is hoping for the lead role in Annie Get Your Gun. But while she's waiting, she receives a frantic call from her fellow actress and friend Marge, who wants to hire her to find Lassie, Marge's pug, who has disappeared into the desert with a pack of Chihuahuas. Knowing the desert is dangerous for small animals, Ivy agrees. But then Marge tells her that Arnie, her husband, has discovered he's a father, and Arnie has invested tons of money in a ghost town named Gold Bug Gulch, run by Arnie's son Nathan.

Marge is afraid Nathan is taking advantage of Arnie, and not be his son at all, and wants Ivy to go undercover in the Gulch as an actress in their little melodrama for the tourists, in order to learn more about Nathan. How can she say no?

But on her first day, one of the town's actors is killed by a real bullet, and now Ivy wants to know if it was an accident or intentional. While she's in the town, she not only meets interesting characters, she's in the middle of several "accidents" that all seem to be intent on closing down the Gulch. But with a host of suspects, it won't be easy to sift through them, and if she doesn't figure it out soon, she could find herself in a role she won't be happy to play - permanently dead.

Once again, Ms. Brown has written an engaging mystery that will keep you reading right through to the end. She peppers the book with interesting characters who may or may not be who they claim to be; interspersed with humorous situations, dangerous ones, and a new talent that Ivy - nor anyone else - knew she had.

While she's still trying to circumvent her boyfriend Matt's insistence that they tell people they're a couple, she doesn't want to lose him but realizes that with him leaving the group home her brother Cody is in, she's going to have to make a decision soon. And no one is more shocked than herself when her father visits and she discovers a few things about him that she never knew. To top it off, she learns more about sharpshooter Annie Oakley than the 1950 film shows, and proceeds to educate others, even incorporating it into the daily "melodrama."

With a full plate indeed - auditioning for a stage role, working in the Gulch, searching for a lost pug, investigating both Nathan and a murder - Ivy's life is nothing more than normal (for her), and it is very enjoyable indeed to watch her navigate through the pitfalls and surprises that await her around every corner, as she tries to remain unobtrusive, but manages to create havoc wherever she goes.

This is a book that is fun to read; both whimsical and, at times, suspenseful; when we discover who the murderer is, as we know we will, it comes as a surprise; and although there are a few clues scattered about, it is hidden well enough to give us plenty of red herrings to follow. Highly recommended.

Ivy Get Your Gun is the fourth book in the Ivy Meadows mystery series. When Gold Bug Gulch’s actor-gunslinger Mongo winds up shot dead for real, actress and part-time PI Ivy Meadows is asked by her friends Arnie and Marge to investigate. Arnie and his newly found son Nathan have invested heavily in this newest theme park venture. Ivy goes undercover playing several roles (ingenue, saloon girl and Annie Oakley) in the tourist town. But problems escalate as someone is sabotaging the site with poisoned water, dangerous critters and more. Suspects include an environmental activist, the hunky blacksmith whose family used to own the land and former gold mine, and one of Ivy's fellow actors.

Ivy also has to find Arnie's missing pug Lassie who has gone off in the desert with a pack of feral Chihuahuas. And she is also trying out for a part in a regional theater's production of “Annie Got Your Gun” and working on her relationship with her behind-the-scenes boyfriend Matt.

This was a quirky fun mystery, a quick read and another winning entry in this madcap series.

I received this book for free from Netgalley and Henery Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ivy Get Your Gun

by Cindy Brown

With Ivy Get Your Gun, don’t expect a suspenseful thriller with a philosophical bent. Look for a fun cozy mystery with lots of humor. Ivy Meadows is a medium level actress who also works as an apprentice private investigator in her Uncle Bob’s office. Being a part of both worlds opens up opportunities for the author to explore more diverse plot threads as Ivy engages with people she knows from both arenas. A third dimension is added as Ivy deals with the consequences of a youthful mistake, her difficult family relationships, and a blossoming romance.

Mystery is the priority of this book as Ivy combines her theatrical skills with her admittedly too naive and trusting nature. She goes undercover to play Western characters in a melodrama at Gold Bug Gulch, getting involved with some interesting but dangerous personalities. The short chapters and fast pace will have you flying through this book. Even when I knew I had to put it down, I couldn’t resist a peek at the next page!

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery, General Fiction (Adult)

Notes:
#4 in The Ivy Meadows Mystery Series, but worked great as a standalone
Includes information contrasting Annie Oakley in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and the historical Annie Oakley
Publication: May 16, 2017—Henery Press

Memorable Lines:

We ate in silence for a minute. Or I did. Frank chewed his Fritos noisily, with his mouth open. I got the feeling he’d lived alone for a long time.

Uncle Bob had taught me that most drives could be put down to power or passion. Power included money, prestige, and the need to one-up someone. Passion covered revenge, sex, and love.

Theater had been my safe place ever since Cody’s accident. A place I could relax and be myself, which seems odd considering that I was always playing a role onstage.

There are various elements that drive a story, and two of those are the plot and characters. A stellar storyline can often overshadow mediocre characters, and vice versa. In Ivy Get Your Gun, the storyline is fantastic. The actions unfolds quickly as Ivy slowly picks up the various pieces of Mongo’s murder and Lassie’s disappearance. I loved seeing the puzzle come together and feeling the tension as Ivy grew closer to the culprit. On a side note, Ivy is the epitome of a strong female lead; as she sticks to her convictions and doesn’t rely on other people to do the work for her. I especially loved when she retold her rather sexist acting director to stop referring to her as “woman.”  This attitude is especially refreshing after reading novels in which the female heroine relies on a boyfriend or other male partner to get her out of dicey situations.

That being said, I wish the author had given more of a voice to the male characters in the novel. I want to know more about Josh, and Matt, and even Frank. In fact, my favorite character in the novel was Ivy’s brother Cody, and I was disappointed that he was only given a few scenes. Many of the male characters spoke very similarly, and it was difficult to differentiate who was speaking. I wish the author had taken more time to introduce the secondary characters so we could learn their backstories and motivations. Although the plot moved seamlessly, I felt an absence of emotion at times when I should have felt the rage and tears along with Ivy. Still, the stellar action scenes and carefully drawn-out mystery were enough to keep me engaged. When Ivy finally uncovers the mystery, I saw how all the little clues and conversations throughout the story were slowly laying a foundation for the climax. This almost made up for the lack of emotional punch. While light on character depth, this is a fun and action-packed read that will leave you wanting more adventures with Ms. Ivy Meadows.

Ivy Get Your Gun by Cindy Brown
Ivy Meadows #4

Ivy Meadows (a.k.a. Olive Ziegwart) lives a double life. She splits her time between training to be a private investigator with her Uncle Uncle Bob and auditioning for acting roles in the Arizona theater world. Ivy rises to meet challenges both personal and professional in this mystery series that is both touching and comic.

Ivy Get Your Gun, the fourth book in the series, begins with a missing dog and quickly escalates to a suspicious death in a staged wild west shoot-out. Ivy’s friends, who own both the missing dog and a share in the wild west attraction, ask her to investigate. At the same time Ivy is vying for a role in the musical Annie Get Your Gun, which will be staged by a company that she’s been trying to break into. In her personal world, Ivy’s boyfriend Matt wants their relationship to be recognized but Matt is a social worker at the home where her brother, who has a cognitive disability, lives and Ivy is afraid her brother will be hurt if their relationship doesn’t work out.

To find out what’s really going on at Gold Bug Gulch, Ivy goes undercover, playing an ingenue, a saloon girl and even Annie Oakley in the town’s various entertainments. She juggles her life and work issues while switching costumes at Gold Bug Gulch. Eventually Ivy sleuths her way to satisfying solutions for all of them. I dabbled in theater in high school and college. I can see some of my experiences through author Cindy Brown’s descriptions of the theater life for a struggling actress. Definitely not all glitz and glam. Brown’s characters are a draw to the series as well. Ivy’s traditional family disintegrated after the accident that left her brother disabled. But Ivy has built a new one from both extended family and friends. I am so pleased with the positive way that Brown depicts Ivy’s brother, his housemates and his girlfriend. I too have a family member who has a cognitive disability and I appreciate the glimpse into the lives of people who share that challenge and meet it successfully.

Ivy Get Your Gun stands alone, so you don’t need to have read the previous books in the series, but I recommend you do. They are all excellent and you will be doing yourself a disservice if you skip to the middle of the series.

This is the fourth book in the Ivy Meadows series, a series about actress turned part-time private detective Ivy Meadows (aka Olive Zweigwart.) These stories are some of the funniest mysteries that I have enjoyed in a very long time.

In this book, Ivy takes on several jobs at one time. She is busy trying to find her friends lost pug who has joined up with some feral chihuahuas. She has to find him before the coyotes do. Also, the same friends need her help to find out what is really going on at the ghost town theme part their newly found son has invested in. There is a death and that changes the whole scope of the investigation.

Ivy is also trying out for a part in a regional theater's production of “Annie Got Your Gun” and trying to juggle all of this with her relationship with Matt – her behind-the-scenes boyfriend. Problem is, Matt wants to make their relationship public and Ivy is gun-shy of doing so.

Not only is this a fun story with a good whodunnit, there is a wealth of information about real-life Annie Oakley. I will be looking forward to Cindy Brown's next installment in this series as it is now one of my favorite cozy mystery series.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Cindy Brown has produced a fantastically fun murder mystery novel that holds true to its construct but forces the borders to rip roaring success. This is part of a series though I have not read the previous instalments but coming into this fresh, I have to say that it made me smile and totally enjoyed it as a standalone.

The characters are vivid and alive and it does have a comic thread that carries through but Brown is a gifted enough writer to balance the more dramatic moments and enables the narrative to carry on with its heart firmly on the sleeve. They do have a quirkiness that makes them endearing. The subplot concerning Lassie was well handled and a good introduction to the action that will soon take place.

Brown has a special knack of capturing characters and even tackling conversational issues without hitting the reader over the head. The mystery unfolds whilst lulling the reader into the story and carrying them away within its engaging plot. The plot is fantastically constructed and the author really has an unique talent of totally encompassing the inter psyches of her characters and placing you into her main protagonist shoes.

With her uncanny ability to tell the story from Ivy’s point of view, Brown has focussed the whole narrative with every scene featuring her main character. The story unfolds to the reader as it unfolds to Ivy and this is where Brown really shows her forte with her confident style.

Ivy Get Your Gun is a true winner of a novel for people who like their mysteries light and frothy with an inner character driven depth. The plot is engaging and extremely rewarding with the characters reaching an emotional depth is natural within its conclusion. This is a winning novel and it has personally made me what to purchase the previous books and start totally engrossing myself into Ivy’s world. A True Winner.

Ivy Get Your Gun is the fourth book in the Ivy Meadows mystery series by Cindy Brown. In this installment we find Ivy (aka Olive Ziegwart) called by her older friend Madge and her husband Arnie with an urgent plea to help them find Lassie, their male pug who has taken off with a band of wild chihuahuas.

But that is only the beginning! When speaking to Arnie on the phone,o Madge and Ivy hear what sounds like gunshots, then the line is dead. When they rush to Arnie at his latest investment Gold Bug Gulch, they find Arnie is okay, but not so one of the street actors in the gun duel. Someone has switched the blanks for actual rounds and one of the actors is now dead.

Arnie and Madge hire Ivy to find Lassie, but also to find out who switched the rounds and what Arnie's long lost son Nathan has gotten himself into with the investors at Gold Bug Gulch.

With strong characters, shady happenings, and a ride off into the sunset ending, Cindy Brown has produced another winning cozy mystery. I do recommend this book.

Not everyone can do what author Cindy Brown can do better. Not everyone can do it better then author Cindy Brown can. (Singing along, weren’t you?)

IVY GET YOUR GUN was my first book in this series so I was worried that I wouldn’t know everything that was going on. However, author Brown did a great job of making things understandable for new readers.

Chapter one of this tale had me both laughing out loud and gasping in shock! Protagonist Ivy Meadows is such a fun character. I enjoyed getting to know her, and how she thinks. And the cast of supporting characters are so much fun! I am in love with Marge and her husband, Arnie.

As for the mystery aspect of the story, IVY GET YOUR GUN was a first rate whodunit. Ms. Brown was building up the suspense, and causing mayhem even as she was leading to a conclusion I never expected. Truly a clever, and fast moving read.

Grab up a copy of IVY GET YOUR GUN. You’ll be happy that you did!

Quirky characters and strange situations make for the best cozy mysteries.
When Lassie doesn't come home, the fear is he has been abducted or worse. How can Ivy say no when asked to track him down? While trying to understand the circumstances, she finds herself drawn into another serious situation all while auditioning for a role she truly wants but is very nervous about. Can she mix her acting talents and burgeoning P.I. skills to help out friends?
Or will it be curtain down for Ivy?

You will smile as Ivy does her best, and hold your breathe as you see her put herself in harm's way.
There is never a lull or slow section. This whodunit will keep you guessing.

I don't think this is the strongest in this series so far, but it's still a lot of fun. I'm in awe of the way Cindy Brown keeps finding theatre themes for the titles and mysteries. Ivy is a great character and I like her struggles to balance acting and PI work, although at times I wish she wasn't quite so rubbish at the PI stuff as I do like a bit of competence porn. Still its early days for that. She is a little careless sometimes about her relationships which can be a bit exasperating but I know that it's being done for dramatic effect so I put up with it!

IVY GET YOUR GUN by Cindy Brown might be my favorite Ivy Meadows book yet. This time, the story follows Ivy's pursuit of a role as Annie Oakley in the Arizona Theater while she goes undercover in a Western-style park to uncover who is killing off the help. Again, I didn't guess the right villain and I loved the ending. I really enjoy the journey that Brown takes us on with this series - we always find out new things about Ivy and her family and the books are funny and have good mysteries. I also liked that this book taught me a few things I didn't know. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*4.5 stars

This is definitely the best one out of the series, so far. I thought it had a strong mystery to it and Ivy is really growing as a character. That's why I like the Ivy Meadows mysteries because of Ivy. She is so relatable. She's making her way through becoming a PI and an actress, balancing between friendships and romance. Plus, she's so likable that you can't help but want her to succeed. I really enjoy these cozies and look forward to more from Ivy.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ivy takes on an undercover job at Gold Bug Gulch, where one of the gun fighters has just been shot and killed. As she gets to know the employees at the tourist trap ghost town, she finds plenty of suspects, but was it an accident or murder? Meanwhile, she also trying to land a part in Annie Get Your Gun for a theater company that might really boost her career and keep her relationship with her new boyfriend on track.

Since I’ve loved the first three books in this series, I was expecting to love this one, and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The story moves forward quickly, and the characters are strong. The author finds that perfect balance of comedy without making anything or anyone not feel real. In fact, there’s some real depth to these characters by the end. Throw in the acting, and I completely enjoyed it.

Entertaining and engaging cozy mystery. This is a clever series. I liked this one more than the previous ones due to the subject matter. The research done on Annie Oakley was interesting and refreshing. The murder mystery kept me guessing and until near the end I did not suspect the correct culprit.. I wonder what will happen next!

Cindy Brown manages to combine humor and mystery in a delectable little cozy. Ivy, whose real name is Olive, stars in a western- themed play set in Gold Bug Gulch. She is on the trail of a pack of Chihuahuas, who have enticed a pug to join them owned by her friends. Ivy is also trying to figure out who set up a Cowboy for death. But when the murders keep happening, Ivy follows the path of a killer- who will stop at nothing.

There are many chuckle, aloud moments, as when our heroine deals with cacti, and no toilets, to settle for a bush. The description of that little interlude alone is worth reading the book for. Although, Ivy and her costumes as a P.I. provide some pretty amusing reading as well. Can I say Nun?

The array of characters add to this neat little mystery. We have a bat-loving Conservationist and the sudden addition of a son for her friend, Arnie. There is the cast for the Arnold Opera House and multiple Investors. Let's just say there is plenty of opportunity for laughs and Ivy to track down the killer.

I have enjoyed Brown's addition to the series. It is not easy to write a mystery with this much humor.The book is a page turner and I finished it in one night.

Side-splittingly funny and with clever twists in the mystery. The characters are well-established and people I can easily see myself hanging out with. What a treat.