Out of Time

Meet Casey Jones -- an unlicensed, no-nonsense private detective who hides 160 pounds of muscle with an in-your-face femme fatale style. She's bold, she's bad and, most of all she's nobody's fool. Underneath her wisecracking 100% Southern exterior, there beats a 14-carat heart with a definite soft spot for life's losers. With the brains to take on any challenge and the guts to impose her own brand of justice, Casey Jones has what it takes to be your best friend-or your very worst enemy. This time around, Casey takes on a case that batters her once-sturdy body and threatens to expose her closest held secret. When her investigation into the case of a woman on death row sets her at odds with her hometown police force, Casey quickly learns the true blue friends aren't necessarily clad in blue. One by one, bodies begin to fall, while Casey holds her ground. She must race to uncover the truth before more people die and before she takes the rap for their murders. With the help of an unlikely pair of bloodhounds and even more unlikely allies, Casey battles back to reclaim her clients life and her own, and to set a trap for a very clever killer before time runs out. 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.