Jane Reads: A Good Kind of Trouble by Ellie Ashe | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

From the award-winning author of the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries comes the first book in the Trouble in Twin Rivers series of fun, romantic mysteries!

The Blurb

There's always trouble in Twin Rivers...

Beacon news reporter Lindsey Fox is on the verge of breaking a huge story of political corruption that will make her career and make her famous journalist parents proud — or she could be thrown in jail and fired. It really could go either way. Her recent streak of bad luck continues when Lindsey finds herself facing a bogus contempt charge — and attorney Ben Gillespie is appointed to get her out of the slammer. They once had a bad date of epic proportions — stilted conversation, food poisoning, burglary, towed car. Then there was the incident with the pepper spray. Lindsey never believed she’d see the sexy lawyer again.

Ben can totally believe that Lindsey is behind bars. The woman is trouble. Now he has to get his new client out of jail, keep her out of the grasp of a crazed bike messenger and a shady P.I., help her save her job, and convince her to put down the pepper spray and give him another chance.

A Good Kind of Trouble by Ellie Ashe
Series: A Trouble in Twin Rivers Novel, #1
Genre: Romantic Mystery
Publisher: Self / CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publication Date: April 7, 2015
Paperback: 422 pages
ISBN-10: 1508515808
ISBN-13: 978-1508515807

e-Book File Size: 860 KB
ASIN: B00UPIUPF2

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The Review

I just read a really good book, y'all — A Good Kind of Trouble by Ellie Ashe. Let me tell you a little about it.

A Good Kind of Trouble is a fun, quirky romantic mystery in the new Trouble in Twin Rivers series. The main characters in A Good Kind of Trouble are Lindsey Fox and Ben Gillespie. The story is told from their POVs in third person. I enjoyed this, because the reader sometimes gets to see their very different interpretations of the same event, such as the "bad date of epic proportions."

Speaking of that bad date, the gory details are revealed in bits and pieces, from each POV, beginning in Chapter 1. As a result, I was immediately caught up in the storyline. I was compelled to keep reading, to learn exactly what happens on the date, especially why Ben gets pepper-sprayed at the end of it.

And then I got caught up in Lindsey's paranoia — a burglarized apartment, maybe; a stolen laptop, maybe; an attempted mugging, maybe; many intimidating phone messages, maybe; slashed tires on multiple occasions, maybe — a multitude of unsubstantiated claims, enough to cause her co-workers and boss at the newsroom to believe her to be a crazy "drama queen" just seeking attention. But maybe all of her claims are really true, and they really are out to get her. [Now you're hooked too, aren't you?]

In addition to paranoia, A Good Kind of Trouble by Ellie Ashe contains incomprehensible legalese, romance, suspense, surveillance, corruption, whistleblowers, orchids, intrigue, municipal bonds, boondoggles, more romance, nuisance money, evil bankers, federal agents, looming bankruptcy, mysteries galore, and nut-buckets with blogs. Be on the lookout for these famous names — Steve McQueen, Michael Jackson, Laura Petrie, Laura Ingalls, Charlie Rose, and Rolex. Find out the connection between the construction of a sports arena and the renovation of the city's sewage treatment plant. Learn how a small group of moms (with their kids) in a park thwarts Lindsey's stalker and saves the day!

Author Ellie Ashe's experience as a journalist and a lawyer gives authenticity to her descriptions of Lindsey's journalism and Ben's law practice. This realism added a great deal to my enjoyment of A Good Kind of Trouble. The action, especially near the end of the book, is particularly exciting and suspenseful. I couldn't put the book down, and had to keep reading, all the way to the (very good!) ending.

I am looking forward to the next book in Author Ellie Ashe's Trouble in Twin Rivers series. I really enjoyed A Good Kind of Trouble, and hereby award it Four Kitties!

Four out of five kitties

Note: I received a complimentary copy of A Good Kind of Trouble in exchange for my honest review.

All opinions shared are 100% my own.

Follow the tour, to read other reviews and Author Guest Posts, plus Author Interviews!

To read an excerpt from A Good Kind of Trouble on Author Ellie Ashe's website, click here.

The Guest Post

Have you ever been chatting with a friend and while they’re telling you a story you were completely distracted by how you were going to steal that story and incorporate it into a book? No? Then you’re not a writer.

Writers are thieves. I mean, we won’t mug you for your cute purse (probably). But like they say on Law & Order, anything you say can and will be used as fodder for fiction. I actually haven’t watched Law & Order in a couple years, but I’m assuming it’s still using that “ripped from the headlines” theme.

Most of the time, my own theft is fairly innocuous. Ask my cousins who unknowingly lent me their first names (Thanks, Lindsey! Thanks, Katrina!). And my mother, who inspired a throwaway line about tripping over an orange traffic cone (keep providing me with material, Mom, but please watch your step).

In A Good Kind of Trouble, I used a couple of real-life incidences as inspiration for workplace scenes. One scene was a newsroom scuffle between Lindsey’s editor Sam and the newspaper’s in-house counsel, Lara Petrie. My critique partner had concerns about that scene.

“I just don’t know if it’s believable that an argument would escalate to a physical altercation,” she said.

This was a bit awkward. I’d worked in newsrooms and seen things that would make an HR professional run screaming, so it hadn’t occurred to me that readers would question something I’d seen happen. More than once. I toned it down a little for the fictionalized version.

The other “ripped from real life” scene was inspired by stories I heard from two different lawyers about life in huge law firms. Gordo’s method of sneaking out of work to have an occasional social life combined two different stealth escape plans. The details were changed, of course, to protect the not-so-innocent.

This is important information to keep in mind if you know any writers. You may need to start each conversation with a disclaimer, like, “This is strictly confidential,” or “Don’t you dare put this in your book,” or “Put down the pen, Ellie. I mean it.” Something like that. Your writer friend will get the hint.

And will wait until you leave to write it down.

The Author

About Ellie Ashe

Ellie Ashe has always been drawn to jobs where she can tell stories — journalist, lawyer, and now writer. Writing quirky romantic mysteries is how she gets the “happily ever after” that so often is lacking in her day job.

When not writing, you can find her with her nose in a good book, watching far too much TV, or trying out new recipes on unsuspecting friends and family. She lives in Northern California with her husband and three cats, all of whom worry when she starts browsing the puppy listings on petfinder.com.

Find her on the web at