DEUCE MORA DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM FIGHTS – SHE PICKS THEM. THE BIGGER THE BETTER.

Although, to be fair, this one is brought to her by a dog with a bone in his teeth. In Jean Heller’s first Deuce Mora mystery, the scrappy female sleuth tangled with the mob; this time out she’s on the wrong side of the NSA, the FBI and the CIA. At a minimum. Fans of hard-boiled female protagonists should hang onto their fedoras-- this one’s an action-packed extravaganza!

The grisly discovery of a human bone while Deuce is out for a hike with handsome arson investigator Mark Hearst leads to the unearthing of a vast burial field, a human trafficking ring, and international intrigue. The pull-no-punches columnist-- and meticulous detective-- keeps turning up information, bit by bit, only to find some Fed in her face, at her door, emerging from the shadows, always guarding the edges of the story, insisting it will not be told. Yes, the Feds are aware of the trafficking ring; yes, they have a plan to move on it; no, Deuce can’t be told about the plan; and under no circumstances can she write about its existence.

This is the story of a lifetime-- bigger than the Vinnie Colangelo story, which earned Deuce and the Journal a Pulitzer, and, for once, she has the support of her editor, but the Journal’s lawyer appears daily, bringing warnings about “national security.” What, Deuce seethes, could be a greater matter of national security than the safety of the city’s children, who are being kidnapped and murdered?

And this story has become very personal for Deuce, as she herself admits, lamenting her loss of objectivity. The hard-hitting journalist has fallen hard for a new guy: a savvy and charming eight-year-old boy named Charles with the face of an angel and the possibility of a bright future, but at great risk due to a life in foster care. Already the street-smart kid has revealed a depth of knowledge about the failures of DCFS and the machinery meant to protect him. For Deuce, every child reported missing and every new body discovered in the hunting ground has Charles’s face. But while she’s racing to break the case wide open, her life and her career are threatened on all sides; she has to wonder where-- or if-- the Feds will stop to contain the horrific truth.

But break wide open it does, racing to an outrageous surprise ending that seems shockingly … plausible, and Deuce learns first-hand the lesson that sometimes the only way to accomplish a great good is to commit unthinkable evil, and then learn to live with the consequences. Author Heller does a masterful job of expanding the story-- and her canvas-- from a simple murder mystery to an ever-widening crime thriller, and finally to an international conspiracy.

“Good reporters do not always good novelists make, but Jean Heller is both.” -- The Boston Sunday Globe

WHO WILL LIKE IT: Fans of Chicago private investigators VI Warshawski and Libby Fischer Hellman’s Georgia Davis, get-the-story-or-die reporters like Hank Philippi Ryan’s Jane Ryland and Kelly Lange’s Maxi Poole, hard-boiled female protagonists like Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan; and anyone who admires tough-minded women sleuths who’re good in a fight.

Read more

Friends change, love betrays, and the end results are never what you anticipate.

Reluctantly cajoled into helping an old friend find the cause of her puzzling symptoms, Operating Room Nurse Annie Collins, is drawn into the chaos of a life that has derailed. Libby Matheisen’s doctors and her husband Edward think her symptoms are the result of a miscarriage. Libby is sure they aren’t and wants Annie’s help to discover what’s wrong. As the situation becomes more dire and her suspicions grow, Annie begins to wonder if Libby is really ill or if there is more to the story. Annie’s search for the truth doesn’t come without a heavy price.

Decisions, like rocks thrown into a lake, can ripple far and alter lives forever. A gripping story of how far one woman will go for an old friend, and the first installment in the National Indie Excellence award-winning and critically acclaimed, Annie Collins Mystery Series.

SHE’S LOST, BUT HELICOPTERS ARE CIRCLING…
THE BAD NEWS: THEY’RE NOT A RESCUE UNIT.

In response to readers' comments, this book was edited after its release. Early purchasers will want to update your file in your Kindle library for an improved reading experience.

Investigative reporter Deuce Mora’s seen it all, been there, done everything – (everything dangerous, anyway) – but waking up in a swamp next to a plane crash is a whole other order of scary. The scariest part: she has no memory of how she got there.

She’s so disoriented she actually considers trusting the mysterious swamp hermit who says he needs to hide her to protect her from the search helicopters circling above.

But he could be right – the helicopters belong to agents of what passes for law and order in Joe Pye County – all of whom are rottener than last Easter’s undiscovered eggs and under the sinister thumb of a sadistic, corrupt sheriff.

If Deuce ever gets out of this alive, she’ll have a lot to answer for to both her editor at the paper (who pointedly instructed her not to go to Joe Pye County) and her fiancé Mark, who did not sign on for Deuce’s daredevil shenanigans. They’re both near the end of their respective ropes.

Deuce, however, hasn’t got the whole corruption story yet. She won’t be leaving any time soon.

A perfect fit for those who love tough-minded sleuths who're good in a fight.
Read more

From the author of the bestselling Lexi Graves Mysteries comes a gripping, fast-paced Hollywood whodunit!

Shayne Winter thought she had it all: a dream job at the LA Chronicle, a sleek new apartment, and a picture-perfect LA lifestyle. But day one is a disaster—her apartment is a wreck with a roguishly handsome squatter, and her new job as chief reporter has been reduced to writing obituaries after her predecessor, Ben Kosina, waltzes back in.

When her first assignment—the accidental death of washed-up child star Chucky Barnard—takes a twist, Shayne sees her shot at redemption. Chucky’s sister insists it was murder, and Shayne is determined to uncover the truth. But with a stubborn detective, a cutthroat Ben, and a killer watching her every move, she’s in over her head. To save her career and her life, Shayne must crack the case—before the killer sets her final deadline.

Why readers give Deadlines FIVE STARS!

"Hard to put down" ?????
"This is the best cozy mystery I've read" ?????
"Fast-paced and funny... poignant" ?????
"A must read for fans of women sleuths" ?????
"A page turner from the very beginning" ?????
"The emotional touches hit me right in the heart" ?????
"I read the book in one sitting and ordered the second book before I shut off my Kindle" ?????
Read more