NEVER take the short cut... Rika Martín wasn’t in Bolo, Texas five minutes before she was run off the road, tripped over a dead body, then arrested for murder. And she’s not so sure about Nick, the lawyer who’s been assigned to her, even when he’s shirtless, wearing a cowboy hat, and holding an extra-long hose. (Okay, maybe then.) All Nick Owen can think about is getting out of Bolo, a hometown he never should have returned to. Until he goes to pick up his best friend Gabe—the local judge—for a round of golf and is forced to represent a murder suspect. Gabe, of all people, knows Nick has sworn off murder trials after what happened last time. Unfortunately, he also knows Nick is a damn good trial lawyer. Even worse, this “Paprika Anise Martín”—if you can believe that—seems more determined to solve the murder case than to defend herself against it in court. With claims of devil worshipers in the area and at least one shooter determined to take Rika out, can Nick and Rika resolve this case before the murderer gets rid of her for good? More about this series: Is this series humorous? Yes, most readers find it laugh-out-loud funny. Is this series romantic? Yes, while each funny mystery is solved at the end of each book, the romance between the geek girl heroine and the "cowboy" lawyer grows throughout the series. Is there action? Yes, it's full of original, often wild and quirky, action scenes. Will this series have warm, touching, uplifting moments like the Nina Cordoba romantic comedies? Yes, Nina is all about creating unique, unforgettable characters you can feel with. Does it matter which order I read them in? Due to the many revelations about recurring characters as you get to know them as well as the humor "call backs" to earlier books, this series is best read in order. (Book 2 is Dead Men Don't Eat Quiche.) Keywords: mysteries, mystery series, first in series free, romantic mystery, funny mystery, cozy mysteries, amateur sleuth, female heroine, women sleuths, geek romance, funny romance, rom com, romantic comedy, Latina heroine, diverse, Hispanic, cowboy romance, mystery romance, romance mystery, Castle, Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plumb, Stephanie Bond, dog mysteries, mysteries with dogs, Janet Evanovich, Janet Evonavich, Stephanie Plumb, Stephanie Bond, Castle

How do you get revenge on a dead man? In this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, life-long good girl Paige Tipton learns what her dead husband was doing, for years, while she bent over backwards to try to please him. And she hopes Jeffrey is watching from hell when she finds some long-haired biker dude and does with him what Jeffrey did with all those hookers. Besides, a guy she finds at a creepy dive bar will never, ever pop up in her upscale real life. Now, if she can only get the biker to cooperate… Dillon spots Country Club the moment she walks into the D.O.A. He’s always had a weakness for these debutante types. The last time he gave in to it, at fifteen, he and his housekeeper mom lost everything. But this woman is cute as hell and really funny—especially when she offers him forty bucks for sex, considering he’s a very rich man now. But her kind is the last thing he needs in his life. Tempting as she is, surely he’s learned something in all these years. Right?

On the night Leo Stone returns—notionally from the dead, in reality from the Democratic Republic of the Congo—Cass Tuplin gets a call from Gary Kellett. A call about an actual dead person: Gary’s daughter, killed in a car crash. Gary’s adamant it wasn’t an accident. Cass agrees to investigate. After all, not just Rusty Bore’s only purveyor of fine fast food, Cass is also the closest thing to a private detective within a couple of hundred k’s. The local police (Cass’s son Dean) try to warn her off. It’s true Cass’s status as a celebrated yet non-licensed nobody doesn’t entirely suit Dean. But Dean also believes Gary’s a delusional, grieving father. Is that the case? Or did a young journalist die after asking too many questions? Cass intends to find out. As soon as she’s dealt with some queries raised by the reappearance of Leo Stone. Sue Williams is a science writer and chartered accountant who also holds a PhD in marine biology. She lives in Melbourne with her husband. Her first Cass Tuplin mystery, Murder with the Lot, also published by Text, was shortlisted in the Ned Kelly Awards. ‘There’s a wry, satirical element to much of Williams’ humour...In the grand tradition of cosies, [Cass is] a woman underestimated at your peril...Fun and often charming crime fiction, thanks to its winning super-sleuth heroine.’ Saturday Paper ‘Williams captures small town Victoria with ease and her plot has enough twists and red herrings to keep it interesting. Fans of Murder With The Lot will not be disappointed, and no doubt will be hoping for more of Cass Tuplin. An excellent sequel!’ BookMooch ‘Once again, Williams has created a small-town mystery with big repercussions with the wacky, loveable characters who fill Rusty Bore making a comeback in this novel.’ Weekly Times ‘An enormously enjoyable and pacy novel set in a speck of a country town in rural Victoria, with a plucky amateur sleuth amid a quirky ensemble of townsfolk and family. Quintessentially Australian without being overcooked.’ Abbey’s Bookshop ‘[A] finely wrought and highly amusing crime novel...Williams has created a wonderful new series in the comedy crime genre. Dead Men Don’t Order Flake is a multilayered yarn that mines the rich ore of regional Australia and I can’t wait for the next Cass Tuplin adventure.’ Australian ‘Williams has put together a recipe for madcap adventure the main ingredient an engaging female lead whose nosiness solves the mysteries of her tiny hometown.’ Adelaide Advertiser ‘This book is pure entertainment the author captures the quirky ways of small town Australia perfectly, well, apart from murder that is, we don’t get too many of them in these parts.’ Audiothing ‘Smoothly written with plenty of humour, and some wry observations by Cass, this is an enjoyable, off-beat crime novel with a good cast of characters and a nicely paced storyline.’ Sydney Morning Herald

Always Dreaming of You, sequel to the award-winning novel Not Dreaming of You. Tragedy has struck the Carson-Villanueva family. All Chris can do is keep busy and hope the crippling feeling of loss will fade, until an encounter in a parking lot with a striking young woman injects him with optimism. But when she tips him for helping her and drives off without giving her name, he's disappointed...and a little insulted. Elle Lorrence has one goal: To escape her mother's world of paparazzi, entourages, and plastic-surgeried cyborgs. So far, it’s been harder than she thought. But if she can only pretend to be an actress for this one little independent film, the paycheck will enable her to set her escape plans in motion. When Chris meets his new dialect coaching client, she turns out to be Elle, from the parking lot. She’s almost irresistible, but he has no desire to get mixed up with an actress and live a Hollyweird lifestyle. And after her bizarre reaction to an incident at the diner, he knows he’d better do his job and get far away before he’s sucked in by her allure. Every fiber of Elle’s being tells her Cristóval Cesar Carson is the embodiment of the faceless man from her dreams. But are the hurdles she must overcome to possess him insurmountable?

Loser or Lunatic? Kiki Villanueva and believes she had a psychic dream when she was thirteen in which she was given a list of her future husband’s attributes. Children are her life, and Kiki has good reason to think she may not have any if she doesn’t marry soon. She decides when she goes back to L.A. for the summer, she’ll start using the list to sort through potential candidates. When jaded political journalist Mark Bennett confesses to his doctor he no longer finds women—or anything else—exciting, Dr. Chuck is worried he’s depressed and suggests a change of pace. Mark agrees to write a fluff piece for a magazine about people who join high-priced dating services. His premise is "Losers or Lunatics?" The dating service introduces him to Kiki, and he’s charmed by her open, passionate nature—not to mention her big, brown “do me” eyes—though she definitely belongs in the "lunatic" category with that psychic stuff. Mark is a confirmed bachelor from a family where no one says the L-word. However, while accompanying warm, sexy Kiki on her match-making service dates for his story, he soon wonders why he’s literally driving her to the arms of other men. If he could only get her to forget her list… But Kiki’s not about to waste time on an emotionally challenged cynic who only wants to “play” and is definitely not on her list, even if he is handsome, and funny, and sexy—uh-oh!

For years many folklorists have denied the possibility of a truly American folk or fairy tale. They have argued that the tales found in the United States are watered-down derivatives of European fare. With this gathering, William Bernard McCarthy compiles evidence strongly to the contrary. Cinderella in America: A Book of Folk and Fairy Tales represents these tales as they have been told in the United States from Revolutionary days until the present. To capture this richness, tales are grouped in chapters that represent regional and ethnic groups, including Iberian, French, German, British, Irish, other European, African American, and Native American. These tales are drawn from published collections, journals, and archives, and from fieldwork by McCarthy and his colleagues. Created along the nationalist model of the Brothers Grimm yet as diverse in its voices and themes as the nation it represents, Cinderella in America shows these tales truly merit the designation American. William Bernard McCarthy is professor emeritus of English at Pennsylvania State University. His previous books are The Ballad Matrix: Personality, Milieu, and the Oral Tradition and Jack in Two Worlds: Contemporary North American Tales and Their Tellers .

With Dead Man's Puzzle, Parnell Hall delivers another stellar, puzzle-packed entry in his entertaining Puzzle Lady series. Sherry is off on her honeymoon when Chief Harper comes to Cora Felton, asking her to solve a crossword puzzle found on the body of Old Man Overmeyer. Small problem. Cora is the Milli Vanilli of cruciverbalists. Her niece, Sherry, writes the crossword puzzle column for her. Cora pokes into Overmeyer's death, hoping to prove he died of natural causes. She learns the cranky hermit was the sole surviving member of a forty-year-old stock pooling agreement, and before she can say "capital gain," the town is full of heirs. Complicating things is Sherry's ex-husband, Dennis, who is playing detective in the hopes of impressing his ex-wife. With Sherry out of town, her restraining order against him is moot, and he is taking full advantage of the fact.