Books in Carlotta Carlyle Mysteries series

A case almost a quarter of a century cold turns red hot again when Linda Barnes's detective and part-time cabby, Carlotta Carlyle, gets ensnared in the hunt for the source of a manuscript in the unmistakable voice of Thea Janis, the young literary sensation who disappeared twenty-four years ago at the height of her fame. Now, pages from an inflammatory new manuscript are appearing, written in a voice that could be none other than Thea's. But a madman sits in a Massachusetts state prison, convicted of her murder. The "Cold Case" squad of the Boston Police won't touch this one--they want to keep it irrevocably closed. Thea's brother, a dashing politician, is in the middle of a hotly contested gubernatorial race and has other problems, with a fiery young wife and a reputation for ruthlessness. Thea's older sister has withdrawn into her own oblivion. And her aristocratic mother finds her refuge in a bottle. Who wrote the new manuscript? Who is sending it piecemeal to Thea's family, demanding chapter-by-chapter blackmail? Who is playing games with Carlotta with every loaded word? Is Thea alive or dead? Is the author a victim, a plagiarist*or a killer? Carlotta Carlyle confronts demons from the past and from the present as she peels back layer upon layer of a glittering family's dark secrets in Cold Case, her toughest and most intriguing assignment yet.

The first book in the Carlotta Carlyle series!Linda Barnes's A Trouble of Fools is the book that introduced readers to ex-Boston cop and PI Carlotta Carlyle, who knows trouble when she sees it like the old Irish lady offering a grand in cash to find her brother...TROUBLE…Since being bounced from the Boston police for insubordination after six years of service, Carlotta Carlyle has set up shop as a private investigator ready to deal with anything from lost pets to substantially grander larcenies. Though Carlotta, a six-foot-tall, redheaded ex cop, part-time cabbie, and neophyte private eye, works out of her home, it's rare that clients stop by unannounced. Especially clients like the genteel, reserved, elderly spinster Miss Margaret Devens. ALWAYS COMES…With cash flow problems and a caseload so light that she's taken to reading her cat's mail, Carlotta accepts the case of Miss Devens's missing brother Eugene. Oddly enough, Carlotta knew Eugene when they worked together back at Green and White Cab. As far as Carlotta sees it, this case should be a pinch--until two thugs looking for money send her client to the hospital. WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT…The old lady's missing brother seems to have been involved in something much more dangerous than simply driving a cab. Carlotta is determined to do whatever it takes?work the cops, pose as a hooker, and even drive a cab again--to find Eugene before it's too late."She is one of the most sparkling, most irresistible heroines ever to grace the pages of a whodunit."?Chicago Sun-Times"All elements are skillfully woven together in a book that has just about everything."--Denver Post

Twenty-four years ago, teen prodigy Thea Janis vanished from her upper crust Boston prep school. At first called a runaway, she's later named among the victims of a serial killer, a man doing life in Walpole Prison. Then a new manuscript appears in her family's mailbox. The words cry out from the printed pages, Thea's voice unmistakable even a quarter century since the girl's mysterious disappearance. A new client bearing a dead man's name turns up in the office of P.I. Carlotta Carlyle, looking for her help in finding whoever is sending the book―even if it turns out to be Thea herself. The investigation leads Carlotta to a prominent Boston family with deep connections and even deeper pockets, and which badly wants the tragic past to stay buried. But after a hit man tries to write his own ending to the saga, the cold case suddenly goes white hot―and Carlotta may be the one who ends up getting burned.

A case almost a quarter of a century cold turns red-hot again when Linda Barnes's detective and part-time cabbie, Carlotta Carlyle, gets ensnared in the hunt for the source of a manuscript in the unmistakable voice of Thea Janis, the stunning literary sensation who disappeared twenty-four years ago at the height of her fame.Thea was fifteen when she vanished, after Nightmare's Dawn, her brilliant debut novel, propelled her and her prominent Boston family into the painful glare of the spotlight society reserves for genius. Now pages from an inflammatory new manuscript are appearing, written in a voice that could be none other than Thea's. But a madman sits in a Massachusetts state prison, convicted of her murder. The "cold case" squad of the Boston police, specializing in old unsolved mysteries, won't touch this one--they want to keep it irrevocably closed. Thea's brother, a dashing politician, is in the middle of a hotly contested gubernatorial race and has other problems, with a fiery young wife and a reputation for ruthlessness. Thea's older sister has withdrawn into her own oblivion. And her aristocratic mother finds her refuge in a bottle.Who wrote the new manuscript? Who is sending it piecemeal to Thea's family, demanding chapter-by-chapter blackmail? Who is playing games with Carlotta with every loaded word? Is Thea alive or dead? Is the author a victim, a plagiarist. . . or a killer? Carlotta Carlyle confronts demons from the past and from the present as she peels back layer upon layer of a glittering family's dark secrets in Cold Case, her toughest and most intriguing assignment yet.