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Stella Hardesty, avenger of wronged women, is getting cozy with Sheriff "Goat" Jones when a to... read full description
reviews
Jul 13, 2010
Cheryl
rated it: 
Everyone’s favorite vigilante…Stella is back!
There is never a dull moment when Stella is involved. She and Sheriff Goat Jones are finally getting to spend some quality time together. Unfortunately, this was wishful thinking on Stella and Goat’s part. Goat receives a visitor in the form of his ex-wife, Brandy.
As if things couldn’t get any crazier, Donna Donovan calls Stella. She needs her help. Donna’s husband, Ned has just been named the number one suspect in a murder ca More...
There is never a dull moment when Stella is involved. She and Sheriff Goat Jones are finally getting to spend some quality time together. Unfortunately, this was wishful thinking on Stella and Goat’s part. Goat receives a visitor in the form of his ex-wife, Brandy.
As if things couldn’t get any crazier, Donna Donovan calls Stella. She needs her help. Donna’s husband, Ned has just been named the number one suspect in a murder ca More...
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Jul 25, 2010
Chris
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Book two in this series finds our heroine, Stella Hardesty, a little less of an action hero and more of an amateur sleuth. Her cast of supporting characters have a larger role here, particularly Chrissy, Stella's "client" from book one, who has come a long way and it essentially Stella's sidekick/partner. In fact, in many ways Chrissy does more to crack this particular case than Stella does. I don't have a problem with that, though Stella does feel a little bit distracted throughout th
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Apr 18, 2011
Ubalstecha
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Stella Hardesty is back. She is still running her sewing machine shop. She is still engaged in a mating dance with handsome Sheriff "Goat" Jones. And she is still hunting down abusive husbands and making them see the error of their ways.
So when Stella gets a call from an old client because her husband is now the number one subject in a cold case murder investigation, she rides to the rescue, pledging to help out. This brings her in conflict with Goat who wants her to st More...
So when Stella gets a call from an old client because her husband is now the number one subject in a cold case murder investigation, she rides to the rescue, pledging to help out. This brings her in conflict with Goat who wants her to st More...
Jul 13, 2010
Rhianna
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A Good Day For Reading
Stella Hardesty knows a thing or two about bad relationships. Her marriage ended when she'd been knocked down one too many times by her husband. Now she gets paid to remind abusive men of their manners. It ain't legal and it certainly could get her into trouble with the new man in her life, Sheriff "Goat" Jones. Just when the two are finally taking a stab at a date his ex-wife, Brandy, drops in like a tornado. Of course, a real tornado tears through to More...
Stella Hardesty knows a thing or two about bad relationships. Her marriage ended when she'd been knocked down one too many times by her husband. Now she gets paid to remind abusive men of their manners. It ain't legal and it certainly could get her into trouble with the new man in her life, Sheriff "Goat" Jones. Just when the two are finally taking a stab at a date his ex-wife, Brandy, drops in like a tornado. Of course, a real tornado tears through to More...
Nov 28, 2010
Maria
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Stella is up and out of the hospital. She is recovering from her adventures in A Bad Day for Sorry: A Crime Novel. Full steam ahead, is her motto, and nothing will keep her from her side business of teaching manners, to abusive husbands and boyfriends... not her attraction to the local sheriff, her injuries, a tornado, or even his ex-wife. The tornado's destruction revealed a dead body... one that had been buried in concrete. Stella has been asked to look into it, to find the real killer bef
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Mar 31, 2011
Spuddie
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#2 Stella Hardesty mystery set in rural Missouri. Stella is still recovering from the events at the end of book one, so her 'activities' (persuading the county's abusive men to be a little friendlier to their wives) have been curtailed. Until a tornado plows through Prosper, bringing back a lot of bad memories for Stella--her uncle was killed in a tornado when she was a little girl and she's always gotten a little panicky in bad weather since then.
This one rips the snack shack at th More...
This one rips the snack shack at th More...
Jul 13, 2010
Michael
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Stella Hardesty was formerly abused by her husband. After years of abuse, she killed her husband, Ollie, with a wrench, then decided to help other women get out of abusive situations.
As the story opens, she's having dinner with Sheriff "Goat" Jones. The two of them have been building up to a more fulfilling romance and the Sheriff has Stella at his home where he's cooked a special mean. As things are promising to develop, the Sheriff's scheming ex-wife, Brandy, arrives.
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As the story opens, she's having dinner with Sheriff "Goat" Jones. The two of them have been building up to a more fulfilling romance and the Sheriff has Stella at his home where he's cooked a special mean. As things are promising to develop, the Sheriff's scheming ex-wife, Brandy, arrives.
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Aug 04, 2011
Pamala
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Just when Stella Hardesty, avenging angel and advocate for downtrodden women, gets Sheriff Goat Jones where she wants him, someone always interrupts them. I'm already deeply in love with Stella and have similar hots for the sheriff, but now it's just gone into plain overdrive. In the third book of the series, When Stella turns down stuck-up Priss Porter's hush money and refuses to submit to blackmail, things get a bit sticky. A great and rollicking read, which includes all those near misses wi
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Jul 13, 2010
Bookworm
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A Bad Day For Pretty is Sophie Littlefield's second book featuring Stella Hardesty, a middle-aged widow who helps women who are suffering from marital abuse. Stella kind of takes the law into her own hands when it comes to abusive husbands. She also owns a sewing machine shop in town.
Stella has feelings for the local sheriff, "Goat" Jones, but as the two are having a romantic dinner, there is a knock on the door and it's no other than Goat's estranged (and trashy), soon to More...
Stella has feelings for the local sheriff, "Goat" Jones, but as the two are having a romantic dinner, there is a knock on the door and it's no other than Goat's estranged (and trashy), soon to More...
Sep 05, 2010
Susan
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When a tornado hits the little town of Prosper, MO, it upends the snack shop on the fairgrounds, and a buried body is found beneath them. Neb Donovan helped build the snack shop, and is the main suspect in the burial. Stella Hardesty, whose main business is helping abused wives (she was one herself), had helped Neb's wife Donna free him from a fundamentalist cult, and promises that she'll help again. True, Stella'd rather get some abuser to see the light, using a variety of tools, but she can
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May 25, 2011
Ed
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Stella Hardesty of rural Prosper, Missouri, has an unusual trade. She offers her services to give "attitude adjustments" to bastard husbands and boyfriends who like to beat on their female mates. This sounds like a grim affair, but Stella has a lot of humor that goes with her feistiness. Nothing objectionably violent occurs onstage, and Stella as a character grew on me as the story went on. She reminds me of a Stephanie Plum but more level-headed. While investigating a murder case for
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Jul 13, 2010
Sari
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A Bad Day for Pretty is the second novel about Stella Hardesty. Stella is a 50-ish woman living in a small town in Missouri. Stella spent more than twenty years married to a wife abuser - her marriage ended with her husband being on the receiving end of a wrench to the head after he tried to beat her up one too many times. Since everyone in town knew that he spent most of his time doing exactly that, Stella was never prosecuted.
I think the publisher description calls Stella "tou More...
I think the publisher description calls Stella "tou More...
May 18, 2011
Katherine
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Snappily written but didn't deliver on the promise or the premise of the first book. Having set up this great premise in her first book--Stella is a middle-aged vigilante who teaches abusive men the lessons that they need teaching--the author, for reasons I do not understand, went on to give Stella a plot largely unrelated to her mission in the very next book. The story seems a little forced and not all that distinctive. If Stella weren't so appealing and Littefield's writing so fun, I'd have ra
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Dec 05, 2011
Josh
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Stella Hardesty is a vigilante like no other. A former victim of domestic abuse who took a stand and is now offering her services to help others fight back. In 'A Bad Bay for Pretty', there is far less emphasis on dishing out dirt to gutless wife-beaters, rather, Stella focuses her attention on proving the innocence of a former client's husband whose the prime suspect in a murder investigation.
Following a dreadful storm which unearths just as much as Stella's early childhood memories More...
Following a dreadful storm which unearths just as much as Stella's early childhood memories More...
Jul 13, 2010
Michael
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Sequel: not as good as the first.
There's a lot more romance in this one. I'd say it veers towards Janet Evanovich, and sometimes even towards Stephenie Meyer.
Also, I appreciate that Littlefield keeps Stella's violent actions offscreen - she talks a lot about having had to hurt people (justifiably), but it never happens in the course of the book, and the descriptions are always vague. But Littlefield spends a lot of time in this book musing on the nature of men and Stella' More...
There's a lot more romance in this one. I'd say it veers towards Janet Evanovich, and sometimes even towards Stephenie Meyer.
Also, I appreciate that Littlefield keeps Stella's violent actions offscreen - she talks a lot about having had to hurt people (justifiably), but it never happens in the course of the book, and the descriptions are always vague. But Littlefield spends a lot of time in this book musing on the nature of men and Stella' More...
Aug 26, 2010
Barb
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easy read, enjoyed every minute. stella hardesty is a great heroine, sassy, funny, a little red neck (maybe?) with a strong sense of justice, a hankering for the sheriff, a group of crazy family/friends, and a special kit with devices designed to make men tell the truth about their trangressions. will definitely read another, written in the same manner as evanovich, but stephanie plum and stella are not at all the same! but both are much fun!
Jul 28, 2010
Bayshore
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This second in a series is easy to follow as a stand alone, but will make you want to read the first. Imagine Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) as a menopausal widowed vigilante and there you have Stella Hardesty, Sophie Littlefield’s heroine. Strong and sassy, Stella and her side kick, Chrissy, are amateur sleuths who will stop at nothing to find justice. Perfect dialogue and plenty of humor keep the pages turning.
Oct 06, 2010
Jacqueline
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I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and the second didn't disappoint either. Think Janet Evanovich with a southern flavor. Stella is a good heroine in the fact that she has overcome an abusive relationship with her deceased husband, and that she is a sexy strong woman in her fifties (kudos to this author for having a mature heroine!) There is a lot of humor in these books, the mystery isn't all that hard to figure out, but I like the spotlight on Stella's relationships with the other
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Aug 17, 2010
Stella Hardesty owns a sewing machine shop but has a sideline in convincing wife beaters to change their ways. Now she wants the sheriff as her beau, which could provide a complication or two. Then a tornado roars through town and a body is discovered in the cement foundation at the fairgrounds. The most likely suspect is a friend and she works to clear him.
Jul 13, 2010
Veronica
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Stella looks like and usually acts like your run of the mill grandma. But she has a secret that is protected not just by her, but also by the women she helps. Stella spent years in an abusive marriage and busted out of it in the most literal sense. Now she dedicates her life to busting other women out of abusive relationships.
A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield held my attention like no other mystery novel. Not only did I want to learn the conclusion of the murder mystery, but More...
A Bad Day for Pretty by Sophie Littlefield held my attention like no other mystery novel. Not only did I want to learn the conclusion of the murder mystery, but More...
Feb 09, 2012
Terri
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I absolutly love Stella Hardesty. Her no nonsense, say what you think, take care of business way of life is refreshing. Her blossoming romance with the Sheriff gets waylaid when his not-yet ex-wife shows up on their first date just when things are getting hot. Add to that a murder mystery, a partner in crime with a wild libdo and a destructive puppy you can't put this book down.
Jan 20, 2011
Erin
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So I thought I was reading Bad Day for Sorry, which was the first book in this series, but inadvertently I started with the 2nd one in the series.... I thought it was ok, not as entertaining or the fun, light page-turner I had hoped for -- I may go back and read the first one, and after more character development maybe I will be more entertained.....
Jan 15, 2011
Karen
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When you have had your share of deep, dark, meaningful, based on the true story of...... and you want to read a fun, engrossing, make you smile book, pick this up. SMs. Littlefiend is not going to win any literary prizes, but she is going to win legions of fans who like her quirky style, deep south speak and a twist from page to page.
Jul 13, 2010
Patricia
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I really liked this book. I liked the strong women characters that learn to stand up for themselves. It's alway good when they learn from their mistakes, and then change and try not to make the same mistakes again. It also helps them to understand those that are going through the same things they went through. I think this book showed that in so many ways.
I liked the way that the character Stella has grown and the book showed more of her life. I'm looking forward to the More...
I liked the way that the character Stella has grown and the book showed more of her life. I'm looking forward to the More...
Aug 03, 2011
Jan
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I really liked the first book in this series. I liked this one too, but felt it was a little weaker than the first one. Seemed to skip around a little bit. But I will still try to read the new one, I like the heroine. About time that women over the age of 50 got to kick some guys butt.
Jul 13, 2010
Pam
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I do not read many crime novels. It just isn't my genre. But I did find this book to be a fun, summer read. The heroine is a white trash widow who helps abused women exact revenge. I enjoyed the humor woven throughout the story and the amusing cast of characters. This is the second in a series, but reading the first book isn't a prerequisite.
Jul 29, 2011
I liked this book, even though it was just an ok plot--the plot engaged me, I want to see more of Stella and Goat--but I felt hampered by not reading the earlier work--there were things that were constantly being alluded to but not explained.
Jul 18, 2010
Anna
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I absolutely loved the first one & I was so excited to read the second one.
It's intense as well, but it is not as intense as the first one. This one has more of a soft side that shows just how sweet Stella is. Trust me, if you read & liked my review of "A Bad Day for Sorry" then you need to start reading this series.
It's intense as well, but it is not as intense as the first one. This one has more of a soft side that shows just how sweet Stella is. Trust me, if you read & liked my review of "A Bad Day for Sorry" then you need to start reading this series.
Jul 21, 2010
Lori
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I am enjoying this series; Stella is quite likable and the twists on this story were unexpected.
She is building her little team and I am looking forward to the next installment.
She is building her little team and I am looking forward to the next installment.
Feb 21, 2011
Cathy
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Sophie has this character nailed! She's avoided the dreaded second book in a series retelling the first one disease and jumped into a new story, skillfully weaving in the necessary back story.
