Novels

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Nine Days

plot synopsis:

Julia Kalas isn't her real name. She used to be Jaana Rizzoli, a Bakersfield building contractor who laundered money for her husband's illegal arms business. Now she's a government witness in hiding from the skinheads who made her a widow at 36.

Trial over, the feds have shipped her off to the tiny town of Azula, Texas -- also known as the Middle of Nowhere. The remote burg is crammed with old buildings begging to be rehabbed, but Julia's hard-nosed watchdog, police chief Teresa Hallstedt, won't let her touch them. Instead, she puts Julia to work for Hector Guerra, a retired boxer who runs the local watering hole. Julia gets the distinct impression that Hector is living a secret life of his own, but before she can nail down why, the two of them find a dead body on the bar's roof.

All the evidence points to Hector, but Julia knows her criminals, and she's pretty sure her new boss isn't one. When she realizes that the cops may be railroading him for reasons both personal and nefarious, Julia reconnects with the criminal underground in a bid to prove his innocence, and learns the hard way that she's not nearly as tough -- or as right -- as she thinks she is.

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South of Nowhere

plot synopsis:

Julia discovers the body of a Tibetan buddhist monk on her recently-acquired property. Hijinks ensue.
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