Description: Novel, Mystery
Death, Taxes and a French Manicure was a great fun mystery, it was a delightful change in my normal reading material.
Death, Taxes and a French Manicure was a great fun mystery, it was a delightful change in my normal reading material.
Watch out tax cheats. The Treasury’s Criminal Investigations Division has a new special agent on its payroll. CPA Tara Holloway has traded in her adding machine for a shiny new Glock. Now she’s kicking ass, taking social security numbers, and keeping the world safe for honest taxpayers. If her career isn’t enough to keep her busy, Tara’s hooked up with a new boyfriend, Brett Ellington. He’s sweet, sexy, and successful. What more could a girl ask for? On her first undercover mission, Tara’s in hot pursuit of an ice cream man selling street drugs along with the frozen treats and failing to report his ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. Latina-debutante-turned DEA Agent Christina Marquez works with Tara to melt the ice cream man’s defenses. Tara’s also set her sights a sleazy con artist defrauding unwary investors through a Bernie Madoff-style investment scam. With her love life in high gear and her career on the fast track, Tara should be ecstatic. But two major problems stand in the way. First, Tara hasn’t been completely honest with Brett about her work. Could he handle knowing she packed heat? Would he stick around if he knew she spent her days on the wrong side of the tracks trying to bust a dope-dealing scumbag? Second, Tara suspects Brett may be involved in the investment scam she’s investigating. Nothing like the possibility of hauling your boyfriend off to the klink to put a damper on a relationship, huh?
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Some People Just Need Shooting
When I was nine, I formed a Silly Putty pecker for my Ken doll, knowing he’d have no chance of fulfilling Barbie’s needs given the permanent state of erectile dysfunction with which the toy designers at Mattel had cursed him. I knew a little more about sex than most girls, what with growing up in the country and all. The first time I saw our neighbor’s Black Angus bull mount an unsuspecting heifer, my two older brothers explained it all to me.
“He’s getting him some,” they’d said.
“Some what?” I’d asked.
“Nookie.”
We watched through the barbed wire fence until the strange ordeal was over. Frankly, the process looked somewhat uncomfortable for the cow, who continued to chew her cud throughout the entire encounter. But when the bull dismounted, nuzzled her chin, and wandered away, I swore I saw a smile on that cow’s face and a look of quiet contentment in her eyes. She was in love.
I’d been in search of that same feeling for myself ever since.
Naughty D's Review:
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Naughty D's Review:
I have to admit this is an out of the norm read for me, it's classified as a mystery, written in 1st person and is going to be series about one woman and her adventures as an IRS special agent, there is a romance that is secondary to the plot, all of which are things I typically stay away from....but get this I REALLY LIKED IT!!! If I had to compare it to something I would say the Stephanie Plum books. I've only read one SP book, BUT I will be reading more of the Death and Taxes series =) No disrepect meant to the SP books, again, it's just not a style I like to read, but something about Diane Kelly's, Tara Holloway has grabbed my attention.
Death, Taxes and a French Manicure is fun read, it has mystery, violence, humor and a little bit of romance. I was drawn into the book with the first sentence, I mean really, who can resist that first line? Once I started reading I couldn't stop, I wanted to see what happened with Tara, Brett and the lovable, quirky, zany cast of characters Ms. Kelly has created.
With all of my existing prejudices about this type of book I was pleasantly surprised to really like this book and couldn't put it down until I finished it. This is Diane Kelly's debut novel and very well done, she has me hooked and anxiously waiting to see what type of shenanigans Tara and crew get into next.
Naughty D gives Death, Taxes and a French Manicure
