Rocky Start

Rocky Start, Book 1

By: Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart, Eric G. Dove

Think of the movie RED or the TV series Black Doves.

Retired covert operatives living in a small town in the Smoky Mountains. What could go wrong? From the bestselling authors of Agnes and the Hitman and the Liz Danger series.

Rose Malone’s landlord and employer, Ozzie Oswald, just died, and now she has no idea if she has a job or if she and her daughter, Poppy, have a place to live, and that’s on top of the arrest warrant that’s been out for her for nineteen years. Then a stranger shows up claiming to be Ozzie’s son and tries to throw her out, so she swings a reproduction of the Maltese Falcon at him, and just as she’s about to finish him off in a rage, somebody grabs him and throws him into the street.

Max Reddy just wants his boots. He’s walking the Appalachian trail with his dog Maggs and stopping for them in Rocky Start when he sees a feisty middle-aged woman swinging a Maltese Falcon at a guy who backhands her. Max throws the guy into the street and continues on his way, determined to get his boots and get out of town, even if Feisty is pretty cute. He’s been alone on the Trail a long time. Some trees are looking good to him.

All Rose wants to know is what’s going on, so she follows Max to the post office, no ulterior motive, honest. Except to pick his pocket to find out who he is, then he can go. But by nightfall, she’s invited him under her roof for her own protection since they're dealing with a town full of retired spies, including a sly-eyed moocher, a suspicious sheriff, a knife-wielding bakery owner, a strange woman who looks like a vampire, a conniving teenager, and a dog who's decided she's done with the Appalachian Trail. And Max is starting to think his dog is right.

Rocky Start: This could be the start of something dangerous.

©2024 Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Narrators Cris Dukehart and Eric G. Dove join forces to introduce listeners to the quirky town of Rocky Start.... The town is filled with former spies, and Dukehart and Dove masterfully handle the mixed cast of characters. They also blend well as they alternate their narrations. Together, they provide a lively performance as Rose and Max contend with Ozzie's past coming back to haunt them."—AudioFile Magazine

Excellent!

Loved the storyline the weird quirky town and all the characters. A tiny town full of ex spies, retired assassins, secret agents and Rose with her daughter Poppy who are just normal people. Rose came here 19 years ago pregnant and was adopted by the town. she is only now finding out this place is not what she thought and the people she has become friends with have some really dangerous secret pasts.

Great listen

Kept my attention, I laughed out loud. Wish there were more, the characters became people I knew, that’s when you know it was good

Great male narrator

Great narrators, good plot, quirky, dangerous, mature characters. Excellent listen and read! I highly recommend the series.

Great fun book

Moving on to the 2nd book!! Such a fun read! You should give it a try

Glad they're back!

OMG! I'm so excited to have Crusie and Mayer back. This book has the romance and action I expect from them. Fun and exciting!