Lavender's Blue

I was never a huge fan of Jennifer Crusie's collaborations with Bob Mayer ([b:Agnes and the Hitman 384457 Agnes and the Hitman (The Organization, #0) Jennifer Crusie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388277284l/384457.SY75.jpg 1734360], etc.), but after not hearing from her for more than a decade, I was willing to take whatever I could get. Lavender's Blue features some of the old Crusie magic, with small town Ohio setting, wacky secondary characters, rapid-fire dialogue, and an ugly dog. The FMC reluctantly returns to her hometown after 15 years of deliberately avoiding it. Secrets are revealed, new boundaries are established with her alcoholic mother, and someone is murdered (the last part is typical only of the Crusie/Mayer books, not her solo releases). But sadly, the book didn't make me squee like [b:Bet Me 854757 Bet Me Jennifer Crusie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129534l/854757.SY75.jpg 1616066], [b:Welcome to Temptation 33727 Welcome to Temptation (Dempseys, #1) Jennifer Crusie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312011677l/33727.SY75.jpg 2563621], or other Crusie gems. There are too many secondary characters, and I was frequently confused about their relationships to the MCs and relevance to the story. The FMC, Liz Danger, becomes uncomfortably dependent on being rescued from danger by the MMC, who happens to be a policeman. When did Crusie's tough, wisecracking heroines become damsels in distress? For God's sake, her name is Liz Danger - let her live up to it! The fact that MMC Vince Cooper (chapters written by Mayer) is a cop who shoots out the tires of a teenager's car because he won't stop talking lands a little differently now than it did during Crusie's heyday of the 1990s and early 2000's. Mayer obviously tries to make his policeman more “woke” - Vince states that he doesn't pull over women or minorities unless they are a safety hazard, and his BFF is a beautiful Black woman with whom he served in combat (Sassy Black Friend cliche alert!). He is a little more emotionally open than some of Mayer's previous heroes, but a cop is a cop, and that's a red flag for me. Obviously YMMV. I will read the rest of the trilogy, because I've missed Crusie's unique voice, but I will feel a bit guilty about doing so.