Badge Bunny

John Lee Quarrels Series, Book 3

By: Nick Russell

Narrated by: David Stifel

When Somerton County "bad girl" Leona Darling goes missing, Deputy John Lee Quarrels is ordered to find her. How hard could it be? Just look in the nearest gin mill, right?

But Leona was nowhere to be found. As he begins asking questions, John Lee discovers that Leona was a badge bunny, a cop groupie who was well-known on a less than professional basis by many of his fellow lawmen.

He also discovers that asking questions can get you into trouble, especially when the people you are asking wear badges, carry guns for a living, and have something to lose. John Lee quickly discovers that he doesn't know some of his coworkers as well as he thought he did.

And John Lee isn't the only one looking for Leona. A big, bad-tempered repo man with a penchant for violence wants to find her, too, and he isn't hampered by the same rules John Lee must follow. Before long, two more young women disappear, blood flows, and somebody will die. By the time the story reaches its tragic end, John Lee will learn secrets he never wanted to know and will never look at his fellow man the same way again.

As sultry as a Florida back road in August, as mysterious as the South's live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, and as deadly as a copperhead strike, the third book in New York Times best-selling author Nick Russell's John Lee Quarrels series will keep you listening late into the night.

©2017 Nick Russell (P)2018 Tantor

Totally unexpected.

Another action…and angst, filled story. This time John Lee is in search of a missing young woman, who has the reputation as a ‘badge bunny’. Is one of their own the reason the woman is missing? Meanwhile, Flag is trying to stir up trouble. Great small town cop story.

Good, but...

My wife and I love this series, but we found the ending to this one somewhat disappointing Sorry no spoilers. Everyone must form their own opinion. .

Quirky Town, Violence in Story, Also humor

This is another great entry in the John Lee Quarrels Deputy Sheriff, Somerton, Florida seris. This series should be read in order because the characters of this quirky but believable town are so worth knowing and enjoying. Even the dog is a great character. A badge bunny turns out to be a woman who is attracted to men in uniform and so "puts out" for them. In this case, a young woman in her early twenties failed to show up in Court regarding back payments on her truck. The violent enforcer who works for the used car lot roughs up one of her two closest friends and those women disappear. John Lee is assigned to find the woman who failed to show and then realizes the others are missing too. This is unusual for the group. Over the course of the story, we have lots of side trips into additional residents of the town, not the least of which are the car lot owner and his enforcer and some of the police officers and a game warden. This is because, along with some other Deputy Sheriffs, many have information they could contribute to the life of the missing "Badge Bunny."

The objectification of the missing woman is notable and the men's viewpoints vary from shame to so what, which offends John Lee despite or because of his reputation for bedding more women than he does or wants to. We meet the three friends' families, including one sister who needs social services help. As usual, the story is rich with people's lives. Along the way, the story of John Lee's relationship with his estranged wife, his potential girlfriends, his issues with the Deputy Sheriff who is a kind of dangerous Barney Fife, the Sheriff who is his father in law and more continues.

Great twist.

Awesome! One of Nicks best! I was totally blown away! Nick at his finest! I can't wait for the next one.