Money to Burn

Casey Jones is a take-no-prisoners female PI who wouldn't be caught dead whining over a lousy boyfriend or asking for help. She's too busy lifting weights, running off at the mouth and making doughnut runs for her overstuffed business partner, the larger-than-life Bobby D., a 360 pound Lothario whose little black book is almost as big as his appetite. With a stretch in a Florida pen behind her and no official PI license, Casey comes from nothing and has nothing to lose. She lives full speed ahead with a healthy respect for the screw ups of others. Only this time, it's Casey who has stepped in it. When a favorite client gets killed on her watch, Casey vows to find the killer no matter what the cost, either personally or professionally. When the trail leads her into the rarefied ranks of North Carolina's social elite, Casey's dirt poor childhood comes rushing back in a wave of self-doubt that adds fire to her considerable fury. She fights to regain her self-confidence and expose an incendiary killer out to destroy more than her name. Casey moves from farmland to the mountains, from debutante balls to drag bars, from boardrooms to bedrooms-- and even down the prickly path of lust at first sight--as she battles unknown enemies anxious to see her, quite literally, to go up in flames. From Publishers Weekly: Raleigh, N.C., gumshoe, 160-pound Casey Jones (first introduced in Legwork) has more than her usual hassles. Her current beau, a cop, is berating her for agreeing to look for evidence that could overturn a woman's death sentence. The woman supposedly killed her husband, another cop. Not only does Casey run smack into several police departments who won't help her, but someone tries to kill her. And whenever she seems close to getting a break on the case, she turns up near a dead body and the police are certain she's involved. All the while, Casey tries to fortify herself with doughnuts, fried chicken and just about anything else, at least until she can sort out her case and her love life. Casey's size and tough manner belie her Southern roots; in fact, she wants a man to wait on her and woo her but only on her terms. ("I've kept telling him that he's going to have to kiss my .45 caliber ass for the next twenty years in order to atone.") The atmosphere is thick with greasy foods and pervasive corruption, but Casey makes this is a delightfully funny read, perfect for a rainy afternoon or long train ride.