Tamara Owens is a young widow starting her life again…finally. She recently passed a real estate licensing exam and began selling property in the coastal city of Santa Barbara, California. In an emergency meeting of the Board of Realtors, Tamara learns that female realtors have gone missing from open houses this past weekend. The first woman disappeared from a high-end open house in San … Francisco last Thursday, another from Sacramento on Saturday, and the most recent disappearance was from Paso Robles on Sunday. Police warn that someone working in Santa Barbara might be the next victim, and brokers must instigate a program to protect their employees.
Could Tamara become a target for the serial kidnapper? To protect female agents in the office, her brokers decide to use trained guard dogs to protect women agents who hold open houses, but Tamara already has Bentley. He is an agility-trained Standard Poodle, more of an acrobat than an attacker. He’s hardly the scary kind of dog normally used for this task, but Bentley’s trainer believes he has natural talent and the desire to protect his beloved mistress. Would Bentley be large enough to fend off an assailant? He has a mouth full of sharp teeth, and he can jump higher than the trained shepherds in the kennel.
Can Tamara escape from a serial kidnapper, who has decided to add her to the collection of beautiful women? What will happen to the kidnapped women after the collection is complete?
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I didn’t expect to like this book because I’m not really a dog person but I did enjoy the story.
This is a fast read with a lots of suspense. The characters are well developed. The way the dog was part of the story was realistic and yes the dog did save the day.
Loved the Aunt and could visualize her very easily which made me chuckle a few time.
If you’re looking for an easy entertaining read this might be a book for you.
This is a great series that is part thriller and part mystery. I love the dogs, too.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is the first installment of a new series by this author. This might be my favorite of her series yet. It has the perfect combination of suspense, mystery, and romance, as well as a delightful and amazing sleuth-dog, Bentley. The descriptions of the real-estate business and settings are very realistic, and the author has obviously drawn on her own experience in the industry. Bentley and the main characters Tamara, her Aunt Jessica, and police officer soon to be life partner, Paxton, are fun reading. The story calls attention to the problems associated with physical risks realtors might face in showing homes alone. As well, the theme of human trafficking is well done and brings a contemporary world-wide scourge to the reader’s attention, as well as a gentle education in the topic. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I’ve read and enjoyed all Diane Rapp’s books, but Realtors for Sale grabbed me in a way that none of her others did. It took me a while to figure out what was so different about this one. It’s well written, but all her books are. The characters are engaging, but that’s not it, either. Ms. Rapp’s characters are always fun.
I think I’ve finally stumbled on what’s different about Realtors for Sale. It’s a gripping, fast paced thriller, but it’s also a feel-good story. I don’t want to say much more about how Ms. Rapp pulled that off, because I worry about spoiling the excellent plot that she put together. So I’ll just say that it’s a page turner that has you braced for the inevitable, violent encounter that you keep expecting to come.
If you enjoy thrillers, this one won’t disappoint, and when you reach the end with a smile on your face, you’ll know why I had trouble writing this review. I recommend Realtors for Sale.
Tamara Owens has just passed her realtor’s test and now can sell homes. This is a new chapter in her life as she is now a widow, something she wasn’t expecting. As exciting as her new job is, there is something sinister out there. Someone has been kidnapping female realtors in California. Will Santa Barbara be the next place they hit? As a precaution, her brokers have decided to use guard dogs to protect their female employees when they go out to show houses. Tamara has Bentley, her standard size poodle, but is he really a guard dog? Will he protect her when the time comes? Who is kidnapping all these women and why? You will need to read the book to find out. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book.
There is much to like in this book. I enjoy a good mystery and this one had me guessing for a while. I kept wondering what was really going on. It sounded like something terrible, but it ended up not being as bad as what you’d think first.
The whole plot was interesting and made me laugh at times, and the relationship between the two main characters blossomed at a pace that I liked. It wasn’t your typical give and take. Bentley was super cool, throughout the whole thing, and was a force to be reckoned with, but the real star of the book is Aunt Jessica. I think she could give Jessica Fletcher a run for her money.
Overall, each of the characters is described beautifully, especially the ones that are supposed to leave a lasting impression on you. There are quite a few that you need to remember.
There wasn’t really anything I didn’t like about this book. I learned a lot about California. I learned a lot about real estate, and I learned a lot about what dogs can be trained to do.
Read this book if you love mysteries and dogs, or appreciate a sweet love story.