Later Gator

I stumbled on Louisiana Longshot, book 1 of the Miss Fortune series, about 3 years ago. Since then I have read or listened to the COMPLETE series at least once per year. And each time there is a new release I find myself needing to revisit Sinful LA and Fortune Redding and her friends.Of the, currently, 24 books in the series, I do not own only 1 of the books as it’s not my favorite and the series doesn’t miss anything by not reading it. All the other books I own in both ebook format and in audio format.This is a series I have recommended to multiple family members and friends, in all walks of life and of different ages, and every one of them have enjoyed the antics of Swamp Team 3 and the LOL moments that leave you crying.HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Love all the books in this series. Hilarious with no foul language. If you want to read smut, these books are not for you.

I grew up with parents who loved reading. I never did, until I went to Hawaii, and was on an airplane for 10 hours. I started my venture with Janet Evanovich. I love her series. I recently came upon Jana Deleon and her Miss Fortune series. OMG, I laughed so much and fell in love with this series as well. I even think about Ida Belle and Gertie when I'm not reading, just random times 🤣. I hope this series goes on for many more years. Thank you Jana Deleon, you are truly a great author.

Later Gator (Miss Fortune Mysteries Book 9) These books just keep getting better. A whole lot of fun, mayhem and laughter.

As always, Fortune and the ladies went on another wild romp through the bayou around Sinful and an entertaining read was left in their wake. This series is just plain fun! If you are looking for a serious read, keep looking but if you want simple, uncomplicated pleasure, pick up the first Miss Fortune Mystery and prepare to laugh out loud. I'm hooked!

Are the stories fantastical? You betcha. Do they make me laugh out loud? Ditto!! Makes me want to be one of Fortune's, Ida Belle's, and Gertie's friends. Can't get enough of these stories!

NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jana DeLeon grew up in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators, an area that has been dear to her heart as evidenced by the setting of her Miss Fortune Mystery Series. DeLeon provides intermittent comic relief between pages filled with so much suspense that her reader finds it difficult to put the book aside. At the beginning of Later Gator, DeLeon encourages the reader to begin the series by reading Louisiana Longshot. However, if you have not done so, she provides the reader with a brief character description of the citizens of Sinful, Louisiana, as follows:“Fortune Redding – a CIA assassin with a price on her head from one of the world’s most deadly arms dealers. Because her boss suspects that a leak at the CIA blew her cover, he sends her to hide out in Sinful, Louisiana, posing as his niece, a librarian and ex-beauty queen named Sandy-Sue Morrow.“Ida Belle and Gertie – served in the military in Vietnam as spies, but no one in the town is aware of that fact except Fortune and Deputy LeBlanc.“Sinful Ladies Society – local group founded by Ida Belle, Gertie, and deceased member Marge. In order to gain membership, women must never have married, or if widowed, their husband must have been deceased for at least ten years.“Sinful Ladies Cough Syrup – sold as an herbal medicine in Sinful, which is dry, but it’s actually moonshine manufactured by the Sinful Ladies Society.”First impressions can be deceiving. Sinful appears to be a small, sleepy, boring town with people who need to enter the twenty-first century. Fortune discovers that her first opinion of the town is wrong. When a dead body is found in a pirogue, Fortune is drawn into a murder investigation to prove that the young man who has been arrested is innocent.Ida Belle and Gertie have become close friends with Fortune, and between Ida Belle’s attempts to run the town and Fortune’s sense of justice, the three women get into one scrape after another. Pragmatic Ida Belle likes fast cars, fast boats, fast responses. Gertie moves at a slower pace, but is quick to come up with clever disguises as the three women go underground to right wrongs.The reader has to wonder whether or not Gertie used her disguises while serving her country in Vietnam. Much to Fortune’s dismay, if Gertie plans an escapade, the reader can anticipate that things will go awry and that Deputy LeBlanc will catch Fortune in an embarrassing situation, most of which are both dangerous and humorous.For instance, the three women decide to disguise themselves and go to the Swamp Bar. They are on a mission to discover the identity of the person or persons poaching young alligators. Of course, trouble rears its ugly head in the shape of a bar brawl. The three women manage their getaway before the police arrive. Safely ensconced at Ida Belle’s house, Ida Belle says,“ I never did like makeup. Makes my skin itch, but it’s a good thing we looked the way we did tonight. Hopefully, no one recognized Gertie. Otherwise, we’re in a heap of trouble.”Besides trying to solve mysteries, Fortune does double duty trying to keep the two older women out of trouble, always an impossible task. She is surprised one day when she goes to Gertie’s house and finds an alligator in the bathroom, sloshing around in a tub full of water. Fortune runs for her life to escape the gator, who is definitely not happy with his current circumstances. Gertie, who has captured the gator to protect it from the unknown poacher, has spoiled the gator by feeding it cookies and casseroles.Deputy LeBlanc is called one day when the gator sees a little boy with a bag of cookies. Then, the women have to devise a plan to get the gator back into the bayou. He’d rather stay and eat cookies.The reader is surprised when the poacher is identified, the murder is solved, and wonders what kinds of trouble Fortune is yet to face on the pages of future books.

Fortune is still hiding out in Sinful, after the life changing decision at the end of the last book she feels a bit scared of where her future may be headed and her place in it. But this is Sinful and she doesn't get long to brood, Celia is still mayor and making Carter's life miserable trying to force him to resign. Added to which somebody is poaching alligators, the culprit seems to be a relative of Gertie's but there's no way it can be true. Celia though sees her chance to make trouble and forces Carter to arrest him and keep him locked up in jail if Carter bails him out he risks looking his job but this leaves the police force stuck in the station guarding the prisoner and no one available to look for the real culprit. Enter Ida Belle, Gertie and Fortune if Carter can't fix this they will have to take matters into their own hands and investigate themselves. Roll on another adventure with the Sinful Ladies doing what they do best cause mayhem.

I love the miss fortune series. Gertie has me howling with laughter every time. If you love a series with plenty of action, a little mystery, some romance and a whole heap of laughs, then this is a series worth reading !! I can’t wait to read what happens next !!

Had me howling especially Gertie taking Godzilla (Alligator) for a walk through town on a pink leash. Absolutely CLASSIC. Read all of this series twice and loved and laughed every one. I want to move to Sinfall, have lovely Walter as my boyfriend and Fortune, Ida Bell and Gertie as my best friends. HIGHLY Recommend It

Can't get enough of this series. I found most of Jana DeLeon's other work a bit too raunchy at times (you know, the sort of thing you'd feel uncomfortable reading if you were in the same room as your grandmother) but the Miss Fortune series is always funny and refreshing. I with Ida Belle and Gertrude were my neighbours!

I. Really enjoy this series. They are just light reading but written by a master craft person.l like all the characters and am looking forward to the next episode. I hope Carter and Fortune finally make it but don't stop the series!