Jane Kelly

Jane Kelly is through following men. She left Southern California for the murky quaintness of Lake Chinook, Oregon, apparently so she could trade her bartending skills for much more glamorous work process serving. And the boyfriend, of course, is long gone. But things have been looking a little brighter lately. Her hobby doing PI work is kind of fun, especially when she lands a real case--that pays real money. But the case is about Bobby Reynolds, best friend of Tim Murphy, the only guy she's never gotten over. Everyone except Tim believed Bobby murdered his young family--isn't that why he vanished? Now Tim's coming home and Jane's on her way to talk to Bobby's father. Looks like Jane'll be trailing men after all--this time with a tape recorder and a camera. To top it off, she's being trailed by a homely pug named Binky, left to her by a distant relative. With a job she's learning as she goes along and her ex back in town, Jane's life just went from stress-free to completely stressed-out. And then there's the dead body. . .

Some days are just weird city. Take today. Jane Kelly, thirtysomething ex-bartender, current process server, and owner of The Binkster, a pug, is dutifully putting in slave-labor hours working for Dwayne Durbin, local "information specialist" (i.e., private investigator), and on the road to becoming a P.I. herself. Next thing she knows she's socializing with the Purcells, a rich, eccentric rich family with a penchant for going crazy and/or dying in spectacularly mysterious ways. From what Jane can tell, the Purcells all want Orchid Purcell's money. And when Orchid turns up in a pool of blood, the free-for-all has just begun. Then when Jane finds a second body, it seems weird city is about to get even weirder. . .and a lot more deadly. . . In her second smash outing, Nancy Bush's wickedly funny heroine, Jane Kelly, proves herself a worthy successor to Stephanie Plum, but with a wit, style, and dog that are definitely all her own.

For process server-turned-private investigator, Jane Kelly, weddings are murder. Usually that's a metaphor, but for newly minted P. I. Jane Kelly, it's fast becoming an all-too-accurate nightmare. Roland Hatchmere, plastic surgery magnate, has been found murdered just before his daughter's society wedding. The weapon is a wedding gift: a heavy, silver serving tray. The prime suspect is Roland's ex-wife #2: Violet "Ultraviolet" Purcell. Everywhere Jane and her lovable, misfit pug, Binky, look, there's a suspect odder than the last, including two grown, very troubled kids, an ex-wife strung out on Botox and a current wife who's a cross between Donna Reed and a sex kitten--all of them eager to blame Roland's death on Violet. The deeper Jane digs, the less she wants to know. Every truth leads her deeper into danger, and soon, Jane wonders if her first official case might also be her last... And if the client she's been asked to clear just might be the coldest black widow of all...

Something's in the air this holiday season, and it could be the beginning of a wonderful Christmas romance. . . "Candy Canes and Cupid" by Fern Michaels All private investigator Hannah Ray wants for Christmas is a quiet day at her Florida beachfront condo. When her biggest client insists she join him on a Colorado ski trip, she has little choice-but what she finds on her arrival could melt the coldest heart. . . "White Hot Christmas" by Nancy Bush Aspiring PI Jane Kelly likes to pretend she's a bah-humbug kind of girl, but she's had mistletoe on the brain ever since she shared a kiss with her boss, Dwayne. Before she can hope for a repeat performance, Jane must solve a kidnapping that's as twisted as a candy cane-and not nearly as sweet. "Seven Days of Christmas" by Rosanna Chiofalo Five years ago, Bianca Simone received a wonderful early Christmas gift from her boyfriend, Mark-a week amid the stunning Alpine scenery of Innsbruck, Austria. Now she's back under very different circumstances, but Mark has one more special gift in mind. . . "A Smoky Mountain Gift" by Lin Stepp Veda Trent is back in Townsend to fill in as temporary manager of the Crafts Co-op, but she's not planning to stay. Though the mountain town is small, it holds lots of unsettling memories. Yet the wind can change, bringing with it new opportunities-and the chance to create the kind of Christmas Veda has always longed for.