Jesse O’Hara is profane, introverted, and not frequently sober – and has just lost another job. “A million dollar brain and a ten-cent personality,” her last employer said. With nothing better to do, Jesse reluctantly accepts the gift of a luxury cruise around the Iberian Peninsula. She’s not sure she can drink enough to keep her boredom at bay, but that’s the least of her problems. From the very first moment of the cruise, it’s clear to Jesse that something is very wrong.

Aided by her near-photographic memory, Jesse investigates a series of strange incidents on the ship and uncovers what looks like a murderous plot in the works. But with each new layer uncovered, her perception shifts and broadens – and someone doesn’t want her poking around. For Jesse, bruised and concussed is preferable to tanned and relaxed, so she ignores the mounting danger even as she closes in on the villains, who have perfectly timed their grand finale…

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Jesse O’Hara is unemployed. “A million dollar brain and a ten-cent personality,” her last employer said. With nothing better to do, Jesse accepts a request to go to Ireland to help a relative find his missing daughter. She expects to find the young woman quickly, and is looking forward to spending her trip touring and drinking, not necessarily in that order.

Once in Ireland, it’s clear to Jesse that the missing woman has met with foul play. In the course of her investigation she goes to greater and greater lengths to get to the truth, causing her to antagonize Ireland’s most dangerous drug kingpin, not to mention the IRA and the local gardai.

Aided by her near-photographic memory and dogged perseverance, Jesse is close to uncovering the truth, even as other people start to turn up dead. But she’s warned away from the investigation, and when she doesn’t back off, she’s threatened, attacked, and kidnapped. And when she is accused of murder, Jesse must use every ounce of wit and brainpower she has (left) to find a killer and not end up six feet under.

When Jesse O’Hara and her friends are invited to present at the International Conference on Law Enforcement and Investigation, she jumps at the chance. Sure, the dreaded small talk isn’t her favorite, but the conference is in Greece, and she’s more than willing to endure it for the chance to explore ancient ruins and mouthwatering cuisine.

But her plans take an unexpected turn when she’s approached with a high-stakes job offer from the Greek government. They want her help to dismantle a radical nationalist group that’s rapidly gaining public support. The offer? A considerable fee, and a mission that’s as intriguing as it is dangerous.

Fans of Janet Evanovich, Ruth Ware, Darynda Jones and Catriona McPherson will enjoy this “whip-smart, sarcastic, amateur sleuth and a tightly plotted story” (Library Journal). A laugh-out-loud, witty and twisty new instalment in the Jesse O’Hara Mysteries.

“Dizzying . . . Audiences who wished the TV series The Bear had made room for Russian mobsters are in for a treat”

Kirkus Starred Review

“Church keeps readers enthralled as her plot spins into violent territory, and successfully conceals a doozy of a twist that sends the series in an unexpected direction”

Publishers Weekly Review

Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's, a below-average restaurant, the only place that will give her a job.

Things change when she finds head chef Louie Ferrar dead in the walk-in freezer of his restaurant. But instead of closing the place down, the owner, Russian gang boss Anatoly Morzov, not only offers her Louie's job, but also the position as his personal chef. Sagarine agrees, and while she knows she's playing with fire, the chance to turn out extraordinary food at both the restaurant and for Morzov's extravagant private parties is just too tempting.

While the Chicago P.D. searches for Louie's killer, the FBI pressures Sagarine to inform on the gang. She has no choice, but things take another dangerous turn when she falls for one of Morzov's lieutenants. As Sagarine becomes more deeply involved with the gang and with her lover, the FBI's demands put her at increased risk of discovery. She has to make a decision about where her loyalties lie as she finds herself running for her life.

Gang-related murders cast a dark shadow over the city as a new player emerges in the deadly fentanyl trade. Maude Kaminski, technical analyst for the Chicago PD, takes her place on the task force created to end the bloody territory wars.

But Maude's world is upended when a child's backpack is discovered among the possessions of a dead homeless woman. The backpack belonged to Maude’s 2-year-old brother, Michael, and is the first trace of him since he was taken — since Maude let someone take him — over twenty years ago.

As Maude desperately searches for other signs of Michael she turns for help to her best friend, chef Sags Pfister, who harbors a dark past of her own. Long-buried secrets begin to surface, forcing Maude from behind her computer into undercover work and underneath the dark streets of Chicago, where she has to confront her deepest fears. How far would she go to protect her family?

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