K. J. Larsen

I had planned on reading a great mystery set in Chicago, but the sisters Larsen presented another version of Stephanie Plum. Cat DeLuca jumps in your face as a private investigator with tons of relatives in the Chicago Police Department, and an Italian mother that out cooks Julia Child. Of course, a couple of hunky men rotate around the gorgeous Cat. Cat has a beagle, instead of a hamster, and no 'ho as her sidekick, just a crazed woman with a stun gun. The constant mention of food forced me to down a sharing bag of M & M peanuts, and the misery is staring. Cars feature big in this tale, and the cars bear feminine names: Dorothy and Olivia. The story served as my Illinois state reading, and the setting could have been anywhere as nothing hinted of Illinois.… (meer)

Cat DeLuca runs the Pants on Fire detective agency. She follows suspected cheaters. While on the case following suspected cheater Chance Savino, Cat is involved in an explosion. Cat suffers a concussion and her family blames that for the fact that Cat says Chance is alive even though the FBI says they found his body in the blast. This book was written by three sisters and at times the multiple writers shows. There are some rough patches where events don't quite mesh together. The authors also use a lot of strange sayings and try way too hard to be as funny as the Stephanie Plum novels. There are some funny moments and the mystery was okay but I don't think I'll be seeking out more books in this series.… (meer)