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خطوة إلى عالم لا حدود له من القصص

الاستماع والقراءة

K.J. Larsen

Burned by her run-around ex-husband Johnnie Ricco, Caterina DeLuca took the skills she mastered during marriage and opened her own private eye agency. Now she's a second-story woman, armed with a camera, ready to print 8×10 glossies for use in divorce court.

The men in her big, whacko family, all Chicago cops—one a crook—aren't sure what to make of Cat's career choice. But hey, it's serve and protect!

Then one Rita Polansky retains Cat. Rita's liar-liar husband is the mysterious, but seriously hot, Chance Savino. Cat is hot on his heels when an exploding building hurls her out of her stilettos and into the hospital. The FBI claims Chance was killed in the fireworks, but concussed Cat remembers a different scenario.

She escapes the hospital to meet with her client. But when Rita doesn't show, Cat breaks into her home to find Rita with a knife in her chest and two clues at the murder scene: a clutch of candy wrappers and Chance Savino, rummaging through Rita's drawers.

One surprise after another piles up. As no one else sights Savino, everyone around Cat thinks she's crazy. Everyone except a determined killer who has put her on his "kill" list.

Vanessa Hart

Blackstone Publishing

Poisoned Pen Press

Cat DeLuca Mysteries

Liar Liar

Chicago’s Pants on Fire Detective Agency targets liars and cheats. But private investigator Cat DeLuca is once again up to her smokin’ skinny jeans in murder.

Cat is out running in a neighborhood park when she crashes over the faceless body of Bernie Love. Bernie was the finance guy for the scary Provenza family and a friend to Cat’s shady uncle Joey, a Ferrari-wheeling cop. As she hauls out her phone, Cat is assaulted by someone with a Rolex, a stun gun, and a wheelbarrow. When the cops show up, the killer is gone—and so is the body.

Captain Bob, a stickler for habeas corpus, blows off Cat’s story. Stung by a chorus of snickers from the Ninth Precinct, home base for DeLuca men, Cat vows to make her case and goes after the Rolex man. The murderer, desperate to silence the only person who can place him at the park, comes after Cat. She’s quickly on a collision course with the deadliest adversary she’s ever encountered—but she has the help of her beagle partner, her gun-happy assistant, a former spy (or two), and her outrageous, interfering Italian family. Meanwhile, her hot FBI boyfriend seems sidelined in Vegas.

In Bye, Bye, Love, K. J. Larsen delivers another nail-biting tale rife with unexpected plot twists, zany characters, fabulous food, and laugh-out-loud humor.

Carol Monda

Bye, Bye, Love: A Cat DeLuca Mystery

Chicago private eye Cat DeLuca, founder of the Pants on Fire Detective Agency, catches liars and cheats—and, from time to time, killers.

Cat's brief marriage to runaround Johnnie Rizzo was a bust. But it gave her the mad skills she needed for her agency. She doesn't investigate for insurance companies and she won't find your long lost Uncle Harry. But if you're in Chicagoland and you suspect your partner is stepping out, give her a call.

Cat comes from a long line, and big family, of Chicago cops, stretching back to the day when her greatgrandfather gave Al Capone protection and a truck to move bootleg whiskey. Most DeLuca men are straight-up guys. Some are flexible, like Ferrari-driving Uncle Joey. But Cat's Poppa stands above the rest, a man of integrity who one day took a bullet when on duty and became a hero. So why, after someone kidnaps Captain Bob's dog and claims to have evidence of cop corruption, do Captain Bob and Poppa not only deny the accusation, but order Cat to leave it alone?

Long ago when they were partners, the two cops responded to a hit-and-run that claimed the life of one of Bridgeport's most beloved citizens. Daniel Baumgarten, owner and proprietor of Baumgarten's Jewelry was killed in the street outside his shop. The unsolved death was relegated to a dusty cold case file where it was almost forgotten. Until now.

Meanwhile Cat's romance with FBI Agent Chance Savino still gives her goose bumps. Her Mama's latest scheme to marry her off involves a romantic cruise, insane amounts of champagne, and a hijacked priest to tie the knot. But saving Poppa and Captain Bob comes first.

There Was a Crooked Man is another funfilled, surprising page-turner. It's a story of greed and betrayal. And the utterly astonishing things we do to save the ones we love.

There Was a Crooked Man