Advanced Praise for Catfished
Well written with an entertaining storyline that has the right amount of mystery and romance. This is one of those series that you just know will be a huge hit. I will be impatiently waiting for the next adventure with Rylie!
Susan C. (Netgalley Reviewer)
Catfished had me laughing out loud.
Heidi W. (Netgalley Reviewer)
I enjoyed this light-hearted story very much. The main character is very relatable and as a reader, I connected well with all of her situations and experiences. With the sweet mix of romance, comedy, and mystery I loved the characters and how the story was put together. I can not wait til the next book in the series to find out what happens to this character!
Lindsay B. (Netgalley Educator)
What a funny and witty mystery! Catfished has the makings of a wonderful mystery series! Rylie Cooper has captured my attention as a heroine in training.
Kat (Goodreads Reviewer)
A great cast of characters, this story was quick to grab my interest and had moments that really made me smile. I look forward to more stories about Rylie, Luke and the entire gang!
Sarah B. (Netgalley Educator)
Such a fun read that literally had me laughing out loud! I am definitely going to continue reading the Rylie Cooper mysteries, if more are to come! A fun, easy read for anyone! I loved the suspense, love, and of course die hard laughter thrown throughout the book!
Nicole S. (Netgalley Reviewer)
CatfishedA Rylie Cooper Mystery
Stella Bixby
Ferry Tail Publishing LLC
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Jennifer Zemanek, Copyright ©Jennifer Zemanek/Seedlings Design Studio
Copyedit, Proofread, & Structural Editing by Bethany Kaczmarek, A Little Red Ink
Copyright © 2018 by Crystal S. Ferry
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system presently available or yet to be invented without permission in writing from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For my amazing family. I love you.
1
Stress breakout. Perfect. The nasty pimple on my chin peered back at me from my rearview mirror. There was no way I could walk into an interview with that monster on my face. I caked on foundation as thick as the dust on the back of my TV in an attempt to cover it.
Deep breath in . . . and out. Living back with my parents was temporary. Was I thankful to have a place to stay after my entire life had practically collapsed in on itself a week ago? Absolutely. Had I ever thought I’d be one of those kids who returned to their parents’ basement as an adult? Not in a million years.
I was a college educated, hard-working, independent woman. All I needed now was a job. Five interviews in four days and not so much as a “we’ve gone in another direction” phone call. Not a great track record. But sixth time’s the charm, right?
My father had found the ad in the morning newspaper. The front page featured a grainy photo of Ronnie Tilsdale holding his state-record catfish—a slimy, whiskered blob almost as big as Ronnie himself.
At the end of the story, the report noted that Prairie City, the fifth largest city in Colorado, was looking for summer urban park rangers. Urban park rangers? What did they do? Defend the homeless from murderers, drug dealers, and rabid dogs? If not for the required degree in Parks and Recreation Management, I’d have probably skipped right over the ad, but seeing as how that was exactly the degree I held, I submitted an application and received a call back the next day for an interview. Bring on the murderers.
Opening the door of Cherry Anne, my red Mustang now one payment shy of repossession, I tugged my skirt down and made sure the pantyhose my mother had insisted I wear hadn’t formed a static electricity alliance with the hem. I squared my shoulders and steadied myself on my heels, doing my best impression of a runway walk. In my mind I looked like Alessandra Ambrosio or Giselle Bundchen, but in reality I’m sure I looked more like a flamingo on roller skates.
When I walked into the large tiki-style building on the edge of the Alder Ridge Reservoir, a pretty woman with gigantic blonde 80’s hair smiled at me but continued to listen to a weasel-like man’s complaint.
“He caught that fish illegally, Car,” the lanky man said, his face turning an ugly shade of fuchsia above his stringy beard. “He better watch his back or he’ll end up in the same predicament as that fish he caught—dead.”
“You can’t just go around making threats like that over a stupid fish, Dave.” Her shirt showed more cleavage than Dolly Parton. “And I’ve already told you, the rangers are looking into it.”
Dave muttered something about pansy-ass rangers and marched out of the office bumping my shoulder on his way.
“What can I do for ya?” She smacked her bubble gum.
I regained my composure—forcing myself not to yell ‘excuse you’ after him—and smiled as sweetly as I could. “I’m here for an interview.”
“We’re not doing any more interviews for receptionist. Maybe you were supposed to go to the City Offices?”
The pantyhose were definitely too much. “I’m here for the summer park ranger position.”
“Oh, you must be Rylie.” She looked me up and down. “The guys are gonna love you.” She giggled.
I shifted from one foot to another. I had gotten the same reaction when I joined the fire department.
“Let me see where they’re at.” She picked up a mic attached to a radio base station mounted under her desk. “Office One to
