Book Review: Nothing but Trouble

Nothing but Trouble – a PJ Sugar novel
by Susan May Warren

I’m a lit freak. Ya’ll know that if you’ve hung around here very long. It was my great joy to co-own and operate a small publishing house several years ago and although I am no longer in the publishing industry, I do enjoy a good read.

One of my favorite authors is Susan May Warren. I’ve enjoyed her edgy work as well as her more light-hearted, fun filled books. If you haven’t read anything by her, you really should and now is an excellent time because this month she launches her new book, Nothing but Trouble.

About the book:

PJ Sugar knows three things for sure:

After traveling the country for ten years hoping to shake free from the trail of disaster that’s become her life, she needs a fresh start.

The last person she wants to see when she heads home for her sister’s wedding is Boone—her former flame and the reason she left town.

Her best friend’s husband absolutely did not commit the first murder Kellogg, Minnesota, has seen in more than a decade.

What PJ doesn’t know is that when she starts digging for evidence, she’ll uncover much more than she bargained for—a deadly conspiracy, a knack for investigation, and maybe, just maybe, that fresh start she’s been longing for.

It's not fair to say that trouble happens every time PJ Sugar is around, but it feels that way when she returns to her hometown, looking for a fresh start. Within a week, her former teacher is murdered and her best friend's husband is arrested as the number-one suspect. Although the police detective investigating the murder--who also happens to be PJ's former flame--is convinced it's an open-and-shut case, PJ's not so sure. She begins digging for clues in an effort to clear her friend's husband and ends up reigniting old passions, uncovering an international conspiracy, and solving a murder along the way. She also discovers that maybe God can use a woman who never seems to get it right.

What I liked about PJ -

PJ spent ten years on her own, growing up and learning to be who God intended for her to be. She’s got a great sense of adventure, but when the chips are down, she’s your girl. I liked that even though she’d pretty much been run out on a rail, she returns home, ready to face her past…and her future. I also think she’s the auntie you always wanted, but never had. She’s the kind of girlfriend who’s got your back. Every time.



A note from Susan May Warren

Sometimes, do you feel like you just don’t fit in? You look around you and if anyone knew how difficult it was just to put yourself together, to smile when you feel completely overwhelmed, to even figure out what you were making for supper, they’d know what a mess you were. Maybe you totally relate to those words in 1 Peter – God’s elect, strangers and aliens in the world. Do you feel like when you look in the rear view mirror, all you see are your mistakes?

Maybe not. But if so, then PJ is your gal. I wanted to write a story about the person in so many of us who just wants to get it right…but can’t seem to stay out of trouble. My friend and I have what we call the “stupid mouth” club…and we report our weekly foibles (usually on Monday, after Sunday church!). PJ is our charter member. She’s the girl that changes her mind, always hopes for the best, is always discovering that she is just a little different than everyone else. PJ is us.

And that’s good news. Because God loves PJ. He loves her messiness, and her impulsiveness, her heart bent toward others, the hope that fuels her actions. And He has a plan for PJ – one that includes her weaknesses as well as her strengths.


Yep, I need to hear that – need to hear that I don’t have to be perfect for God to love me, use me, sing over me. Need to hear that although I don’t fit in, well, I’m not supposed to…in fact, I’m supposed to be a little…alien.

I wrote PJ for everyone who feels just a little messy, just a little like they can’t quite get it right. And who needs to hear that God loves them. Period. Full stop. Hallelujah.

Contest Anyone?

PJ Sugar's first novel - Nothing But Trouble is popping up all over the country!
Go Hunting for Trouble, and let me know where you see it. Send me the Name of the Bookstore where you found it (and the city, please), and we'll put your name in a drawing for a preview copy of The Great Christmas Bowl
my Christmas Novella, coming out this fall! (Promo coming soon!)

You'll also be eligible to win a cool SUGAR Personal SPA BASKET!!

(For all the PJ Sugars out there)

Send me a PHOTO of you and the book in the bookstore, and we'll add your name 5x!

Go....Hunt up Trouble!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!