Libby Brown is just sick and tired of men. All men. Working as a big city journalist has its rewards but her life -- most especially her love life -- has taken the joy out of even the best career accomplishments. So pulling herself up by her bootstraps, literally and figuratively, she sets out to follow another dream of hers which is to own a farm. She envisions her farm to be just like the Fisher Price one she had as a child but reality just keeps bursting her bubble.

First she gets to her farm -- chicken farm she has decided -- and it is beyond rundown. Actually rundown would be an improvement. But pretty soon her baby chicks, and a cache of dogs, arrive. Soon, Libby finds herself adapting well to her new farmer role. However, as luck would have it, she stumbles on the mysterious disappearance of a local teenager, that after two years is still no closer to being solved. This is just the kind of case that could help launch her career as a reporter for the local newspaper. Unfortunately, this may be a story that someone would just as soon stay untold.

While digging for answers, Libby finds herself in one mess after another but, not to worry, hunky rancher neighbor Luke is somehow always there to get her out of trouble. But that in itself is trouble for Libby who is not looking for any emotional or physical entanglements, even though there's no denying her attraction to Luke. And then there's the journalist side of her that is getting disturbing vibes from his attentiveness. As time goes on the cast of suspects seems to grow and the most likely of them are locals who seem eager to befriend Libby. The line between friend and suspect is becoming fuzzy as her life and peace is threatened. It's rapidly becoming a race between good and evil. And as her relationship with Luke grows into something resembling love, Libby is faced with a real possibility that Luke might hold the key to the teenagers disappearance. Once again she is faced with a question of trust. Surely Luke can pass the test...or can he?

Never judge a book by its cover especially holds true for COWBOY TROUBLE. Just when you think this is going to be another girl meets rancher story, Kennedy throws a wrench in the mix and not just one -- a whole toolbox of them. This book definitely had me questioning my sleuthing skills by the end, so sure that I knew exactly who the culprit was. Kennedy had me believing that there wasn't a good guy in the bunch. Enjoy.

Book Summary

Fleeing her latest love-life disaster, big city journalist Libby Brown’s transition to rural living isn’t going exactly as planned. Her Wyoming ranch and its picturesque outbuildings are falling to pieces all around her. So is her resolution to live a self-sufficient, independent life– thanks to the irresistible allure of her neighbor’s fringed leather chaps.

Handsome rancher Luke Rawlins is impressed by this sassy, independent city girl. But he yearns to do more than help Libby with her ranch. He’s ready for love, and he wants to go the distance.

Then the two get embroiled in their tiny town’s one and only crime story, and Libby discovers that their sizzling hot attraction is going to complicate her life in every way possible...

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