Deep in the Valley (A Grace Valley Novel)

Rating: 3.5 stars __Contains PG-13 sexual content
Note: Continued story. Read all three books in the Grace Valley trilogy as one book.
WARNING: This soap opera style format is confusing if you are not reading the series in order.

GOOD READ. Entertaining, sometimes touching, storyline about the pleasures and problems of small town life, diverse and colorful characters, funny situations, strong extended family theme, menacing bad guy(s), and a sweet, low-key romance that runs through all three books. HOWEVER, the vocabulary is limited, the phrasing awkward, the timeline covers numerous months with a large number of characters so it lacks depth and is confusing at times, if you are expecting a lusty romance you'll be disappointed, and the small town everyone-works-together theme can be overly saccharine and annoying.

THE STORY follows life in and around the small town of Grace Valley, focusing on still single, thirty-eight-year-old, beloved country doctor, June Hudson and family man and local Chief of Police, Tom Toopeek. Together they deal with a myriad of problems from domestic abuse, petty crimes, accidents, unexpected pregnancies, and rampaging mother nature. June's romantic interest is DEA Agent Jim Post, who comes and goes so often through the first two books, it is hard to find a relationship, but finally by the third book, it all comes together and a sweet romance develops.

OVERALL, an engaging storyline, strong characters, NOT a lusty hot romance. The GRACE VALLEY series includes Deep in the Valley, Just Over the Mountain, and Down by the River.

You may also enjoy the complex characters and storytelling of N. Bruhns, A. Stuart, or E. Palfrey. For sweet, funny, heart touching romances, try Susan Fox, Cara Colter, or Nikki Logan.

Grace Valley Trilogy by Robyn Carr
I read these several years ago, but enjoyed the stories and characters just as much the 2nd time. Grace Valley is a humble village/town in Northern California. Most of the folks are pretty straight forward but they have hearts of gold.
This trilogy is centered around the romance of Dr. June Hudson and agent Jim Post. June is a hometown girl who came home to work with and eventually take over for her father, the town doctor. One night while working late at the clinic, 2 men came needed some medical help. One man put a gun on her. June stood her ground, told him to put the gun away and that she would assist his injured partner. As the procedure continued, the gun man "fainted". When June went to give him smelling salts, he "winked" at her and "fainted " again. Thus began June and Jim's weird romance.
Jim was undercover working on a marijuana bust so he couldn't see June publicly or often. Somehow, their romance bloomed through their time away from each other.
There are so many great side stories in this series. The characters are deep but wonderful. You have the eccentric aunt, the former mean girl, the former 1st boyfriend, hooligan twins, June's best friend the town chief, and so many others.

June Hudson grew up in the small of Grace Valley, and after college came back to be the town's doctor after her father, Dr.
Elmer Hudson's semi retirement. It has become too much to care for everyone and has taken on a new physician, John Stone. His past seems a little "shady" to June, so she begins a background search of the gorgeous, family man doctor. She is getting mixed reviews on this man, but his way with patients is beyond remarkable. Is he just passing through, or is this just what the doctor ordered for him and his family? The town preacher is a flirt and womanizer, and the town is getting fed up with his antics, and now one of the single women claim she is pregnant by him. June, on occasion gets the pot growers from the Trinity Alp hills with gun shot wounds, and other injuries from grower wars. On one particular night two men come in to the office, after hours. One carrying a gun, the other injured. June is one tough cookie. Treats the one with the wound, and falls for the other one. Finding out, the other one is undercover with the DEA. She finds people sitting in her living room when she emerges alomst naked from her shower. The small town life, where everyone knows everyone else and knows everything about everyone else. Although I read this book out of sequence in the series, it was so fun, strong, emotional and touching. It really touched on some very important subjects that were very well written. I can't wait to read the final in the series and to see what happens to all folks in Grace Valley. Great series!!

I am about halfway through the author's Virgin River Series and decided to check out this series. In scanning through the other reviews, I agree that the Virgin River books are better than this earlier series and wish I had read these first, only to see the improvement in Carr's writing. That being said...

This book starts slowly and it took about a quarter of the book before I finally started getting comfortable with the characters and story progress. It is similar to Virgin River in that it is about a very small community with the story centering on medical care for the area. The issues brought up are physical abuse, sexual harassment, poverty, illegal marijuana farms, DEA investigations, mental health, recluses... managed with limited resources by a handful of people that are the backbone of a growing community. There is no privacy, everyone knows everyone's business and they support each other in times of trouble and love the life they've chosen.

Although I didn't care for this book as much as the Virgin River's, it earned a "4th star" because there was an incident in the book that brought tears to my eyes and another part that had me swallow once or twice. I will read the next book of Grace Valley.

Format: Borrowed eBook

I have to say that I am very impressed with the author's storytelling abilities. Normally if I don't see hints of romance early on in a book I will become bored and lose interest. This author has a way of spinning a tale that captures your attention and holds your interest. It was quite a ways into the book before the thought came to me that I had no idea if June Hudson would have a love interest or not. And the very next thought was that I really don't care if she does, but can you please tell me if the new doctor is a good guy or bad guy, and can someone in Grace Valley please roast their preacher over and open flame.

The omniscient style gave us insight into everyone's lives while leaving mystery where it was needed. I felt like I knew each member of the community and can describe them to you in great detail. I will definitely be reading (or listening) to more books by Robyn Carr.

Grace Valley Trilogy - Series 1 - #1 Deep in the Valley - #2 Just Over the Mountain - #3 Down By the River - Series 2 is the Virgin River Trilogy.

I love the characters: from Grace Valley, California.
Dr. June Hudson, 37 - her bioligical clock is ticking - probably from delivering too many babies for other couples.
Elmer "Doc" Hudson, 70 - June's father and semi-retired.
Jessica Wiley, 20 and strangely dressed works in the clinic office.
Charlotte Burnham is the practical nurse and a bit sour.

Dr. John Stone, 40 - well to do - married a second time to Susan with a 6 year old daughter - ex-wife trying to ruin his life.

Oh Yeah! Chief of Police Tom Toopeek, 37, married Ursala with 5 children. His father is Lincoln Toopeek married to Philana - Native Americans.
Tom is a very close childhood friend of Junes - has 15 year old daughter, Tanya - 14 year old son, Johnny.
His deputies are Lee Stafford, 30 and married - Ricky Rios, 30 and married. Ricky's mother is part of the quilting bee.

Gus Craven, 40 is abusive to his wife, Leah,33, a Grace Valley native and their children. Oldest son, Frank is going to cause trouble.

Judge and Birdie Forrest - the Judge doesn't want to see Gus again in court or else. [seems like June had a high-school crush on their son, Chris].

Sam Cusslar, 70 - has the gas station and when he isn't pumping gas he is out fishing.

Jerry Powell is the county's psychologist and head shrink and June needs him to go with Tom and her to the Mull homestead [more like a shack] up in the mountains. Clarence Mull carries a gun like all of the mountain people.

And wonderful, eccentric, Myrna Mae Hudson, Doc's sister who raise him when their parents died some 68 years ago. Myrna was 14 and Elmer was 2 at the time. She never married until her 40's to Morton Claypool, who just walked away and disappeared one day 17 years ago. She has been writing Gothic novels about wives who kill their husbands and bury them in the back yard.
When the people asked what happened to Morton she just smiles and says she doesn't want to discuss it.

Oh yes! and there is Burt Crandall and his wife Syl who own and run the bakery. The police, June at the clinic and a couple of others get free coffee and a baked goods from Burt.

And June was held at gun point when asked to tend to a wounded man, that is when she meets Jim.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED [and I normally want more action] but this trilogy is one of the best out - followed by the Virgin River trilogy with June and John making appearances - then we have, coming in November - A Virgin River Christmas -- more to come.

June Hudson is a country doctor, used to how things are handled in the town of Grace Valley. Things are changing rapidly, however. She's hiring a new doctor, who seems to be a welcome boon to the town. But she's also dealing with issues of sexual harassment and domestic violence in the community. Meanwhile, her biological clock is ticking and a sexy stranger has gotten her attention... but is he a DEA agent or an illegal grower? Will Grace Valley take care of its own?

Having already read and loved the Virgin River series, I had to read about Grace Valley, as it is a neighboring town. Some of the characters were briefly mentioned in the Virgin River series and I just had to know more about them.

DEEP IN THE VALLEY is a sweeping tale encompassing life in a small, country community. While the focus in DEEP IN THE VALLEY is on June, the real main character is the town itself. Robyn Carr shows how this vibrant, tight knit community lives and breathes, with everyone looking out for one another. It's hard not to fall in love with the town of Grace Valley.

My only caution is that this book really isn't a romance per se. The copy I have lists it as one and while there is romance in it, the story truly is more along the lines of women's fiction. Some of the relationships are a bit unconventional, but Robyn Carr makes the storyline work very well overall.

DEEP IN THE VALLEY is an enjoyable tale and one that only makes me want to visit Grace Valley again and again. Robyn Carr doesn't shy away from tackling some very tough issues, but she handles each and every one quite sensitively. DEEP IN THE VALLEY is easily recommended.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I was introduced to the books of this author just this month when I picked up A VIRGIN RIVER CHRISTMAS, book #4 of her Virgin River series. Although I enjoyed that book, I didn't love it. (Thought it was too long for the story/plotline provided.) However, I knew that I wanted to read more by this author. A trip to the UBS scored DEEP IN THE VALLEY and I started it immediately, knowing it was from a different series. I was hooked right off the bat.

I thoroughly enjoy Carr's easy, fluid writing style, and I couldn't help but find myself immersed in the characters inhabiting the quaint California mountain town of Grace Valley. They're quirky and kind and flawed and wonderful. The biggest surprise for me, in reading Deep in the Valley, was how many times I laughed out loud. I'm normally not that kind of reader, but Carr writes with great humanity and great (sneaky!) humor. By the time I turned the last page, all I could think about was hunting down the remaining books in this series. I wanted more, more, more!

The only thing that stops me from giving this book 5 stars is just that it doesn't really seem like a romance. The protagonist of the novel, Dr. June Hudson, does have a love interest, but he has maybe four scenes in the entire book. (The love story of June and her mystery man are continued in the other two books of the series.) Since the book says "Romance" right on the spine, I guess I expected more, well, romance. But that didn't stop this book from being a wonderful read, and I feel a HUGE author glom coming on.

There's a lot happening in this book -- the sheer number of characters necessitates action -- but if you are particularly drawn to character-rich stories, I recommend this one (and this author!) to you. There's not necessarily a lot of passion here...but there's a ton of heart!

This book is about small-town community involvement. I grew up in a big city during an era of neighborhood involvement. As a child I felt so safe knowing all the adults in the community were looking out for me. This book reminds me of my childhood. This book is not for everyone. Small-town involvement can at times be intrusive. It's no fun having people know all your business and openly discuss it with others. For me this book was a walk through memory lane; but once that walk was completed, I was not inclined to take that path again. I don't think this book will appeal to most readers--especially romance readers. I enjoyed it as a temporary respite, and give it a 5-star rating. I'm going to hold off on the recommendation.

In her late thirties in Grace Valley, California, Dr. June Hudson wonders if she will ever find a lasting relationship. She would like something similar to that shared between her dad and her mom who died nine years ago. Even as she speculates that no one is available for her, June interviews a new doctor, John Stone, to share the overwhelming workload, but he has a past that makes him seem shaky.

Beneath the surface of the small Mendocino County town lies different extremes of sexual harassment. Gus Craven is physically and mentally abusive towards his wife and children. Gary Baker not only hits his spouse Christina, he demands she remain model thin even though she carries his baby. Even the married pastor makes plays for females and has had affairs. Can June and company idly sit by while her gender is under attack? She is also beginning to fall in love with an undercover Drug Enforcement Agent.

DEEP IN THE VALLEY is a complex look inside relationships in an isolated small Northern California town. The story line is enjoyable yet scary because the large cast of charcaters seems genuine. Although the ending lessons the impact of the problems of spousal and child abuse, and the need to bring medical attention to remote areas, the plot works because fans care about the vast ensemble. Robyn Carr provides readers a powerful, thought-provoking work of contemporary fiction that centers on some members of our population living their lives under constant terrorist activity.

Harriet Klausner

For those of you unfamiliar with Robyn Carr's The House on Olive Street, Deep in the Valley will be a 5 star read. But for the rest of us, we know Carr can do a little bit better, although not much. Deep in the Valley picks us up out of chairs (beds, offices, wherever) and plops us down in Grace Valley, CA, right into the heart of a small town unknowingly on the verge of some major shake-ups. Our tour guide is Dr. June Hudson, who hears her biological clock ticking in between the house calls, phone calls, and emergency calls she gets as the towns only doctor. Enter her "retired" doctor father, her applicant for a second town doctor, the preacher, the office assistant, the eccentric novelist aunt, the gas station owner, the myriad assortment of disfunctional families, the baker... everyone but the candlestick maker, although I'm sure he's mentioned too. This cast of characters may seem too large, but it won't take long for them to grow on you, and seem like members of your own hometown. A delightful read with enough action and humorous antics to set you laughing and maybe even dampen your eyes. Well worth the purchase, and at 5.99 it's a steal compared to some of those other high-priced books!

I’ve driven the backroads of Mendocino California, Fort Bragg, and Eureka, met some of its characters, and reveled in the small town atmosphere which the author so cannily evokes. Providing medical care or law enforcement to people you know and grew up with has its unique challenges. This is first in a romance series and the good doctor’s romantic interest doesn’t show up until two thirds of the way through the novel.

DEEP IN THE VALLEY shares the day to day happenings of the Grace Valley inhabitants who can count among their townsfolk those who are loopily odd and charmingly eccentric, those who are pillars of the community and irreplaceable, and those who are bottom-of-the-barrel bad, so bad even prayer is wasted on them.
One gets the feeling that Robyn Carr placed each of these characters on a tiny square town map that she created, then shuffled them around like chess pieces until they fell into their comfort zones. They operate as fluidly.
June Hudson is thirty seven, single, and Grace Valley's general practitioner. The alarm on her biological clock is a tick away from shrieking and she knows that if she is to have a child she has to do something about it now. But in this town where everyone knows every blessed thing June doubts that her dreams will ever bear fruit. Because it is a known fact that if you live and work in Grace Valley you needed to have picked out your husband way back in the ninth grade. June didn't. Dumb, dumber, dumbest. Now she is overworked, underpaid, and time is galloping past so fast it is like witnessing the wind from the interior of a vacuum pack.
Sam owns the gas station a block from the town center. His priorities are clearly flagged -- when he is not fishing Sam is happy to pump gas. Sam is seventy if he is a day, with a body like a seventeen year old and eyes that Paul Newman would gouge for. Justine, twenty-something, is the town florist who provides flowers for the church. Busy-bodies in town have her supplying more than flowers for the local minister, a randy devil whose sexual exploits are legendary. As are his wife's instincts for sniffing young ladies out of the presbytery. Sam, after a couple of chapters guffawing at the situation, starts to look out for Justine: creating new May-December fodder for the gossips.
Myrna, June's elderly aunt, lives in a large gothic home on the edge of town. Myrna writes mystery. A while back, Myrna was married to a philandering travelling salesman, but somewhere en route she 'misplaced' her man. Since then her tales have become more ghoulish, more gory and themes of dismemberment and buried body parts are common. Locals speculate over coffee that Myrna's real life story is just as grizzly as her fiction. Myrna's character alone is worth the price of this book. Such a chortle!
Way back, hiding deep and dark in the national forest live the Mull family. The Mulls will break your heart. Clarence, a Vietnam vet, suffers from PTS. As a child his wife was slashed and bears a deforming scar down her cheek, but a larger scar undermines her psyche. Terrified, they live as isolates, which is what they seem to need. But they have kids and they know this is not good. Teenagers. Who need a place in society.
Up there on Trinity Alps if you listen carefully you can hear the DEA helicopters searching out marijuana plantation sites even on the quietest night. And sometimes sufferers of drug war wounds furtively arrive at June's surgery. One of them, Jim, brought a patient bleeding from a gunshot wound. His was a rifle request for help, his finger curled around the trigger, causing June's heart to stop. Then go hip-hop.
There are few secrets in Grace Valley. Robyn Carr goes so far as to make a lovely tension out of trying to keep the love story a secret here, attempting to outwit the gossip. But the gossip and the grapevine prevail - to such an extent that this very failing of the townsfolk almost causes a catastrophe. It certainly contributes. How they respond to that catastrophe is a measure of how caring the townsfolk really are. The love story in this tale is peripheral but the characters, the joys, and the travails that evolve are so captivatingly drawn the focus matters not.
Hopefully, this is only the first of a trilogy of the Grace Valley characters. May they live, love and laugh together long and happily. This is a delightful, engaging tale filled with juicy gossipy substance.

I'd never heard of the author and thought Grace Valley would be one of those cutsie towns where an annoying but lovable great aunt hooks up all the good looking but quirky townsfolk. (Not that there's anything wrong with that) instead this was a "real" small town with commensurate problems and struggles (provincialism, small dating pool, money problems etc ) and was overall a compelling and ultimately satisfying read. looking forward to the next one!

I loved this book! It was in no rush to get me anywhere. Every word took me deeper into the setting of Grace Valley. This story definitely has a leading character, but it is the entire community and the richness of their characters that made this story so lovable. My husband regularly was made privy to excerpts all beginning with the phrase, "oh I just love this book!" I'm so looking forward to the rest in the series! (R. Cornwell)

Deep in the Valley is the story of the townspeople of Grace Valley and also the surrounding area. The main character is June Hudson, the town doctor. June is in her thirties and is beginning to really think about having her own family. Surrounding June is a whole town of friends and family. All of whom know everybody else's business.
Deep in the Valley is written much in the same way as Debbie Macomber novels. There is a whole town of people with real life issues to learn about and keep track of. While there is the main character of June, there is also many secondary characters who get their fair share of space in the book. At times though it seems as if there are too many characters, since it's hard to keep everyone straight. Eventually though the reader prevails and the characters become like family, friends, and neighbors. There are characters to like and dislike.
This book was easy to read, though at times seemed choppy. Again, to compare with a D. Macomber novel which goes easily from scene to scene and character to character, Deep in the Valley seems to at times jerk from one character to the next and also from one storyline to the next. The book seems to lack a smooth trangression at times, making it less enjoyable to read.
Overall, Deep in the Valley is a good book. It's a nice way to spend a few hours meeting new people and learning about their lives. Not a romance, yet still a good read.

I love all of Robyn Carr's series. I read Deep in the Valley after reading both the Thunder Point and Virgin River series. This is not up to the quality of either of those but it has its own charm. I felt like it was a practice for the other two. The story was a not as smooth, the writing not as good but I did love the characters. This series follows one main character and one main romance. If you like Robyn Carr I think you will over look the short coming and keep reading.

Deep in the Valley was excellent. Ms. Carr's account of small town living and the going ons was pretty much accurate. The town of Grace Valley reminded me so much of the small town where I grew up. Everybody knew everybody and all your business was out there whether you wanted it out there or not. Although small towns are quaint, they still have their share of problems with crime but there's closeness in the community you just won't find in the big cities and Ms. Carr brought a lot of this out in her novel. June Hudson and her community of family and friends made me miss that place where I can no longer live because I do enjoy my privacy but I miss not knowing who my neighbors are. This novel was pleasantly pleasing and left me wanting more.

I’ve driven the backroads of Mendocino California, Fort Bragg, and Eureka, met some of its characters, and reveled in the small town atmosphere which the author so cannily evokes. Providing medical care or law enforcement to people you know and grew up with has its unique challenges. This is first in a romance series and the good doctor’s romantic interest doesn’t show up until two thirds of the way through the novel.

DEEP IN THE VALLEY shares the day to day happenings of the Grace Valley inhabitants who can count among their townsfolk those who are loopily odd and charmingly eccentric, those who are pillars of the community and irreplaceable, and those who are bottom-of-the-barrel bad, so bad even prayer is wasted on them.
One gets the feeling that Robyn Carr placed each of these characters on a tiny square town map that she created, then shuffled them around like chess pieces until they fell into their comfort zones. They operate as fluidly.
June Hudson is thirty seven, single, and Grace Valley's general practitioner. The alarm on her biological clock is a tick away from shrieking and she knows that if she is to have a child she has to do something about it now. But in this town where everyone knows every blessed thing June doubts that her dreams will ever bear fruit. Because it is a known fact that if you live and work in Grace Valley you needed to have picked out your husband way back in the ninth grade. June didn't. Dumb, dumber, dumbest. Now she is overworked, underpaid, and time is galloping past so fast it is like witnessing the wind from the interior of a vacuum pack.
Sam owns the gas station a block from the town center. His priorities are clearly flagged -- when he is not fishing Sam is happy to pump gas. Sam is seventy if he is a day, with a body like a seventeen year old and eyes that Paul Newman would gouge for. Justine, twenty-something, is the town florist who provides flowers for the church. Busy-bodies in town have her supplying more than flowers for the local minister, a randy devil whose sexual exploits are legendary. As are his wife's instincts for sniffing young ladies out of the presbytery. Sam, after a couple of chapters guffawing at the situation, starts to look out for Justine: creating new May-December fodder for the gossips.
Myrna, June's elderly aunt, lives in a large gothic home on the edge of town. Myrna writes mystery. A while back, Myrna was married to a philandering travelling salesman, but somewhere en route she 'misplaced' her man. Since then her tales have become more ghoulish, more gory and themes of dismemberment and buried body parts are common. Locals speculate over coffee that Myrna's real life story is just as grizzly as her fiction. Myrna's character alone is worth the price of this book. Such a chortle!
Way back, hiding deep and dark in the national forest live the Mull family. The Mulls will break your heart. Clarence, a Vietnam vet, suffers from PTS. As a child his wife was slashed and bears a deforming scar down her cheek, but a larger scar undermines her psyche. Terrified, they live as isolates, which is what they seem to need. But they have kids and they know this is not good. Teenagers. Who need a place in society.
Up there on Trinity Alps if you listen carefully you can hear the DEA helicopters searching out marijuana plantation sites even on the quietest night. And sometimes sufferers of drug war wounds furtively arrive at June's surgery. One of them, Jim, brought a patient bleeding from a gunshot wound. His was a rifle request for help, his finger curled around the trigger, causing June's heart to stop. Then go hip-hop.
There are few secrets in Grace Valley. Robyn Carr goes so far as to make a lovely tension out of trying to keep the love story a secret here, attempting to outwit the gossip. But the gossip and the grapevine prevail - to such an extent that this very failing of the townsfolk almost causes a catastrophe. It certainly contributes. How they respond to that catastrophe is a measure of how caring the townsfolk really are. The love story in this tale is peripheral but the characters, the joys, and the travails that evolve are so captivatingly drawn the focus matters not.
Hopefully, this is only the first of a trilogy of the Grace Valley characters. May they live, love and laugh together long and happily. This is a delightful, engaging tale filled with juicy gossipy substance.

I'd never heard of the author and thought Grace Valley would be one of those cutsie towns where an annoying but lovable great aunt hooks up all the good looking but quirky townsfolk. (Not that there's anything wrong with that) instead this was a "real" small town with commensurate problems and struggles (provincialism, small dating pool, money problems etc ) and was overall a compelling and ultimately satisfying read. looking forward to the next one!

I loved this book! It was in no rush to get me anywhere. Every word took me deeper into the setting of Grace Valley. This story definitely has a leading character, but it is the entire community and the richness of their characters that made this story so lovable. My husband regularly was made privy to excerpts all beginning with the phrase, "oh I just love this book!" I'm so looking forward to the rest in the series! (R. Cornwell)

Deep in the Valley is the story of the townspeople of Grace Valley and also the surrounding area. The main character is June Hudson, the town doctor. June is in her thirties and is beginning to really think about having her own family. Surrounding June is a whole town of friends and family. All of whom know everybody else's business.
Deep in the Valley is written much in the same way as Debbie Macomber novels. There is a whole town of people with real life issues to learn about and keep track of. While there is the main character of June, there is also many secondary characters who get their fair share of space in the book. At times though it seems as if there are too many characters, since it's hard to keep everyone straight. Eventually though the reader prevails and the characters become like family, friends, and neighbors. There are characters to like and dislike.
This book was easy to read, though at times seemed choppy. Again, to compare with a D. Macomber novel which goes easily from scene to scene and character to character, Deep in the Valley seems to at times jerk from one character to the next and also from one storyline to the next. The book seems to lack a smooth trangression at times, making it less enjoyable to read.
Overall, Deep in the Valley is a good book. It's a nice way to spend a few hours meeting new people and learning about their lives. Not a romance, yet still a good read.

I love all of Robyn Carr's series. I read Deep in the Valley after reading both the Thunder Point and Virgin River series. This is not up to the quality of either of those but it has its own charm. I felt like it was a practice for the other two. The story was a not as smooth, the writing not as good but I did love the characters. This series follows one main character and one main romance. If you like Robyn Carr I think you will over look the short coming and keep reading.

Deep in the Valley was excellent. Ms. Carr's account of small town living and the going ons was pretty much accurate. The town of Grace Valley reminded me so much of the small town where I grew up. Everybody knew everybody and all your business was out there whether you wanted it out there or not. Although small towns are quaint, they still have their share of problems with crime but there's closeness in the community you just won't find in the big cities and Ms. Carr brought a lot of this out in her novel. June Hudson and her community of family and friends made me miss that place where I can no longer live because I do enjoy my privacy but I miss not knowing who my neighbors are. This novel was pleasantly pleasing and left me wanting more.

Love all the series that Robyn Carr writes. The characters seem so real, and as they appear again in the next book, you feel you've come to know them as friends. Loved the way her characters in the Virgin River series developed, grew older, left and returned over the years.

I plan to read this series. Love Robyn Carr books. The 4 stars was given because it was hard sometimes to follow. Now that I have started the second of the series, I think the first was just introducing all the characters. Would recommend for sure.

It took me a bit to get into the story and lives of the people in the book but once I did I really liked it. I can't say it is one of these books you can't put down, but it definitely keeps your interest. This is first of her books that I have read and already set up to start another series when I finish the last of this set of 3.

deep in the valley the grace valley trilogy by robyn carr
lady doc returns to town and learns things she must keep to
herself. she gets another doc to help in the practice and is
unsure of if what he's told her is true. it's fun to follow the
families in the valley, there are not many and it's easy to keep
them straight. there are magical things that occur with no explanation as to
how they happen. i know there is another book at least, in this series
so i hope it will continue with all the people in this one.

I havent gotten to the rest of the series yet, but I will tell you that this book mainly focuses on the craziness of this small town in Northern California and its small town doctor - June. Its very 'Robyn Carrish' and a very comforting read. I laughed a lot and even shed a tear a time or two. What it does not focus on is romance (its a small element of the whole book). I think it should be characterized as more chick-lit vs. straight romance (I'm hoping the romance develops more as the series continues)

Trust me, if you've enjoyed Robyn in the past and the VR series you will enjoy this. Its been so long, I kind of forgot how much I love her writing.

I love all of Robyn's series. This is the beginning of three series. Each one leads into another great series. June is the town Dr following her father's retirement. She needs help so hires another Dr who may or may not have a questionable past.

I really enjoy Robyn Carr's series, and this was no different. She develops her characters very well, and makes you fall in love with the small town she writes about. I really liked the plot and the characters in Grace Valley. I'm already on to book 2!

Not a great start to the 'Grace Valley' trilogy. I was expecting to love 'Deep in the Valley' as I couldn't get enough of the 'Virgin River' books but there was no comparison.

Basically the book is nothing more than an introduction to the people living in the valley. If you're looking for something similar to Jack and Mel's story in Virgin River you'll be disappointed. There wasn't a love story worth talking about and there were so many secondary characters and their stories that it was hard to keep track of who was who. I would have liked to have seen more of Jim and June together but he only appears 4 or 5 times throughout the story.

Having said all this I won't give up on the series yet. I'll try Book 2 to see if there's any improvement.

I have red all of Robyn Carr books. The Virgin River series twice ,red Grace Valley trilogy, Started reeding the Thunder point books. I will read them again. Robyn has you hooked on the first paragraph, hated for books to end. Could have keep on reding on and on.any one who likes good love stories, and fiction will enjoy her works. Can!t wate for new novel keep on righting Robyn .

I love reading Robyn Carr's Virgin River series so I looked forward to reading this trilogy. I was disapointed. The story seemed to drag. I will probably read the rest of the series, but it is not as good as Virgin River.

I have read, I thought, all the Robyn Carr books and am thrilled to have a 'new' book to read! This was both a beautiful story but also one with a 'story' of its own. Two really... Good does win over evil and we are really our brother's keeper!

I first bought a Robyn Carr book earlier this year. I was looking for a light-hearted romance novel to pass the time. What I got (the book was "Virgin River") was a well-written romance that touched a range of my emotions. I realize this review is becoming more about the author than about this one book, but Ms. Carr has a handle on issues affecting military personnel and the ones who love them. I read the Virgin River series and moved onto the Grace Valley series. While the Grace Valley books don't deal with the military issue, I still enjoyed them very much. They're not just about romance, but they're about people caring for each other on many levels. I've laughed and cried during each of her books. I heartily recommend them. Be warned, though: If you've recently lost a loved one, you may find yourself crying. I know I did.

I would have to agree with a previous review that this story was not truely a romance. Our hero and love interest Jim played a very minor role. The story focuses on June and the people of Grace Valley. However, the lack of romance did not take away from the book. I felt drawn into the town of Grace Valley and it was a wonderful experience. I thought that too many characters would make it hard to keep track of who was who but it did not happen. It made it all the more real. I would recommend this book but not as a romance but as a heart warming story that will touch you and maybe think about moving to a small town like Grace Valley.

Wouldn't it be nice if there really were communities that stood together to help there own. Robyn Carr does a fantastic job of portraying what community should be and creates characters that are memorable. Can't wait to visit Grace Valley again.

After reading the Virgin River series, I couldn't wait to read the Grace Valley series. What a difference. I do not recommend the Grace series. They go from slow to standing still. I was so bored reading this trilogy. Save your money. Also, for me, there was way too much doctor and nurse and cop stuff. If I have to read the name Tom Toopeek again I will scream.

I loved this book and I can not wait to read "The House on Olive Street".I felt like I lived in Grace Valley and worked right along side of Dr Hudson and Dr Stone.I was so happy that all turned out so well for Dr Stone and the terrible charges that were being held against him by his mean and hateful ex-wife and ex-father-in-law. I can not wait to read the other books by Ms.Carr.

Simply put, you will never want to leave Grace Valley. If it was a real town, I would move there. The characters are amazing. They are not perfect, they are not super heroes - they are real. You worry and wonder about each of them. I hardly ever re-read book but I know in a few weeks time, I'll be heading back to Grace Valley!

I picked this book up for a dime at a local thrift shop. I noted on the back that the main character was a doctor, and since I love books with a medical side I began reading it right away. This was a beautiful story, and the first book that I can remember that gave me goose bumps while reading it. I know you'll enjoy it!

This series came after the Virgin River Series began. I think I should have read it earlier in the Virgin River Series, but didn't til I was done with that series. I still got the jist and it helped fill in some of the blanks for questions I had while reading Virgin River.

I say after every book in this series that this book was my favorite. Well I have to say it again. This was a great story. I recommend it to all. I haven't read this series in order but it didn't matter I still loved it. ROBYN CARR IS AWESOME!!!!!