Death, Taxes, and a Chocolate Cannoli

Death, Taxes, and a Chocolate Cannoli
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466849142

TRUE CRIME DOESN'T PAY...TAXES. IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway has risked her life to take down drug cartels and other dangerous tax frauds. But going after the mob is one offer she can't refuse... He's no Tony Soprano. Still, local crime boss Giustino "Tino" Fabrizio is one shady character that Tara would love to see behind bars. He operates a security business-or so he claims on his tax forms-but his clients don't feel so secure when it's time to pay up. Problem is, no one can get close enough to nail this wiseguy for extortion. No one, that is, except Tara... "WITTY, REMARKABLE, AND EVER SO ENTERTAINING." -Affaire de Coeur Going undercover, Tara lands a waitress job at Benedetta's Bistro-which is owned and operated by Tino's wife. Being surrounded by cream-filled cannolis could be hazardous to Tara's waistline...even though the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Only thing Tara can't afford to do now is blow her cover. Because serving Tino his just desserts will surely come with a price... "TARA HOLLOWAY IS THE IRS'S ANSWER TO STEPHANIE PLUM-SMART, SASSY, AND SO MUCH FUN."-New York Times bestselling author Gemma Halliday

Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure

Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 364
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1429995610

Tara Holloway has got your number. A special agent on the IRS's payroll, she's dead-set on making sure that money crimes don't pay... Tax cheats, beware: The Treasury Department's Criminal Investigations Division has a new special agent on its payroll. A recovering tomboy with a head for numbers, Tara's fast becoming the Annie Oakley of the IRS—kicking ass, taking social security numbers, and keeping the world safe for honest taxpayers. Or else. Tara's latest mission finds her in hot pursuit of ice-cream vendor Joseph "Joe Cool" Cullen. Along with frozen treats he's selling narcotics—and failing to report his ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. Over Tara's dead body. Then there's Michael Gryder, who appears to be operating a Ponzi scheme...with banker Stan Shelton...whose lake house is being landscaped by Brett Ellington...who happens to be dating Tara. If following that money trail isn't tough enough, now Tara must face a new conundrum: Should she invest her trust in Brett—or put him behind bars? New love always comes at a cost but justice? Priceless.

Death, Taxes, and a Chocolate Cannoli

Death, Taxes, and a Chocolate Cannoli
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250048338

TRUE CRIME DOESN'T PAY...TAXES. IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway has risked her life to take down drug cartels and other dangerous tax frauds. But going after the mob is one offer she can't refuse... He's no Tony Soprano. Still, local crime boss Giustino "Tino" Fabrizio is one shady character that Tara would love to see behind bars. He operates a security business-or so he claims on his tax forms-but his clients don't feel so secure when it's time to pay up. Problem is, no one can get close enough to nail this wiseguy for extortion. No one, that is, except Tara... "WITTY, REMARKABLE, AND EVER SO ENTERTAINING." -Affaire de Coeur Going undercover, Tara lands a waitress job at Benedetta's Bistro-which is owned and operated by Tino's wife. Being surrounded by cream-filled cannolis could be hazardous to Tara's waistline...even though the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right? Only thing Tara can't afford to do now is blow her cover. Because serving Tino his just desserts will surely come with a price... "TARA HOLLOWAY IS THE IRS'S ANSWER TO STEPHANIE PLUM-SMART, SASSY, AND SO MUCH FUN."-New York Times bestselling author Gemma Halliday

Snow Place for Murder

Snow Place for Murder
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2023-10-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250816025

The third in the charming and engrossing Mountain Lodge mystery series by Diane Kelly, in Snow Place for Murder, the weather at the Mountaintop Lodge is truly frightful... International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England to Misty Murphy’s little corner of North Carolina and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors. But locals are at odds over the idea, and when a group comes to the lodge to express their worries to Mr. Goodwin and the potential investors, a blizzard hits Beech Mountain. Like the weather outside, things quickly get frosty, and Misty has to call local police to intervene. Handyman Rocky Crowder plows the lodge’s drive and, in an attempt to regain a jovial holiday atmosphere, smooths the snow pile into a makeshift sledding hill for the guests to enjoy. Misty’s boys have finished their exams and are “home” from college for the winter break, planning to spend most of their time snowboarding at the ski resort. While taking a few runs down Rocky’s sledding hill, they discover a funny-looking, nose-shaped rock. Only it’s not a rock. It’s the frozen nose of Nigel Goodwin, who’s found dead and buried under the mound of snow. Who put the developer on ice and why?

Murder With a View

Murder With a View
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2021-02-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 125019749X

Murder With a View is the third book in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, Tennessee—where the real estate market is to die for... A DREAM PROPERTY Carpenter Whitney Whitaker, her cousin Buck, and guard-cat Sawdust just scored a hot property near downtown Nashville in a tax sale. While the Music City Motor Court might not be much to look at now, the two plan to transform the motel’s twelve units into six one-bedroom condominiums with popular mid-century styling. But surprises await when Whitney discovers a squatter living in Room 9 and her cat Sawdust uncovers a body in the bed next door. A LIVING NIGHTMARE The murder victim is none other than Beckett Morgan, an up-and-coming country-western singing sensation who’s taken Nashville by storm with his number-one hit “Party in the Pasture.” Beckett’s left a long trail of broken promises and broken hearts, and the list of suspects seems endless. So does the line of female fans intent on halting the flip and turning the construction site into a shrine for the deceased star. If Whitney and Buck don’t help Detective Collin Flynn nail the killer, they’ll never be able to clear out the star-obsessed groupies, complete the remodel, and recoup their investment. But just who silenced the singer and why?

Dead in the Doorway

Dead in the Doorway
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250197465

Dead in the Doorway is the second in a delightful cozy series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville—where the real estate market is to die for. A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES. . . Whitney Whitaker has scored the perfect piece of real estate: a ramshackle white Colonial at the top of a hill with views of downtown Nashville. What more could a self-taught home-improvement maven and occasional house-flipper ask for? Ideally, the property of Whitney’s dreams would not have come with a dead body blocking the entrance to the foyer. But Whitney, always quick to take heavy-duty matters into her own hands, also happens to be a skilled amateur sleuth. So that helps. AND SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET. Who is this older woman—and how did her corpse end up at the bottom of the staircase of this locked, unoccupied house? That is what Whitney, along with the support of her wood-working cousin Buck, Detective Collin Flynn, and, of course, feline partner-in-crime Sawdust, intends to find out. Her friendly-neighbor investigation takes a sharp turn, however, when Whitney discovers that the house’s former owner was a gourmet baker whose secret recipe for peach pie was to die for—perhaps literally. Now it’s up to Whitney to learn the truth about what happened before she loses this killer real-estate deal . . . and the killer comes knocking at her door. "Adorable...Whitney and Sawdust are a welcome addition to your home and bookshelf."—Kellye Garrett, Anthony, Agatha, and Lefty Award--winning author of the Hollywood Homicide series

Dead as a Door Knocker

Dead as a Door Knocker
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2019-01-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250197430

The first in a brand-new cozy series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville—where the real estate market is to die for. WILL THIS KILLER DEAL LEAD TO A DEAD END? Meet Whitney Whitaker. A hopeless romantic when it comes to real estate, she knows what it takes to find—and flip—the home of one’s dreams. A fixer-upper is like catnip to Whitney: she can’t resist the challenge of turning an eyesore into a priceless work of art. So when one of her clients decides to liquidate a crumbling property, Whitney seizes the opportunity to purchase it for a song. But soon a curious incident of the cat in the night-time leads to a change in tune. . . Sawdust is the name of Whitney’s cat—of course. Whitney’s passion for gut-renovation may be a mystery to him but one thing Sawdust knows for sure is this: Dead bodies don’t belong in flower beds. So why is there one in this new, albeit old, house? Now it’s up to Whitney, along with the help of hot-and-cold Nashville Police Detective Collin Flynn, to find the truth about what happened before the mortgage property forecloses and Whitney loses her investment. . .and maybe her own life.

Four-Alarm Homicide

Four-Alarm Homicide
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2024-04-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250816092

The sixth in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, TN—where the real estate market is to die for. Some properties are too hot to handle... Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck are hot for a historical property that has just come on the market—a fire station in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood that was built nearly a century ago. The cousins have just begun the interior demolition work at the fire station when Joanna Hartzell, who lives in a townhouse around the corner, comes by with a plea for help. Joanna owns the right half of her building, which she proudly maintains in perfect condition, while the left side falls into disrepair: the seven adult children who inherited it years ago refuse to lift a finger on repairs. Never one to turn down a challenge, Whitney and Buck manage to acquire the rundown townhouse—though it turns out Joanna is only one of the many neighbors interested in buying the property once they’ve worked their magic. Then Joanna shows up at the fire station confused and rambling, then collapses, never to recover. Alarm bells go off for Whitney: she suspects something—and someone—evil could be the real cause. Can she and Collin put the clues together and smoke out a killer?

Batten Down the Belfry

Batten Down the Belfry
Author: Diane Kelly
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250816041

Batten Down the Belfry is the fourth in the delightful cozy mystery series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville, Tennessee—where the real estate market is to die for. Here is the church, here is the steeple... Carpenter Whitney Whitaker and her cousin Buck have successfully flipped houses, but this is the first time they’ve attempted to renovate a house of worship. Still, the colorful stained glass in the country church has caught Whitney’s eye, and she’d love to breathe new life into the abandoned building. What’s more, the place has perfect acoustics. Could the worship hall be reborn as an entertainment venue with its parsonage repurposed as a pre-show bistro? Open the doors, and see all the trouble. The owner of the horse farm next door has asserted a legal claim to the church property, rendering their title uncertain. If that’s not bad enough, while rehabbing the church, Whitney’s cat Sawdust discovers a bombshell in the bell tower—the body of the man who’d delivered their beautiful new replacement windows. What transpired in the spire? Who rang the man’s bell and why? The steeple is keeping its secrets and, when a second body turns up, things become even less clear. Can Whitney help Detective Collin Flynn solve the crimes before someone else is sent to meet their maker?