Liar, Liar – K. J. Larsen
Liar, Liar is the first novel for a trio of sisters – Julianne, Kristen and Kari Larsen.
Cat DeLuca, along with her beagle Inga, owns and runs the Pants on Fire Detective Agency…and yes, the name is all that it implies. She won’t find a long lost relative but she is the one to call if you think your hubby (or wife) is cheating on you. Cat also has an overpowering family where all of the men are cops (dad, brother Rocco, cousins, etc) and they want her to give up her job and work as a dispatcher. Then there is mom who is your typical Catholic Italian in Chicago who thinks her daughter is going straight to hell for her career choice.
Everything is going well with her agency until Rita Polansky hires her to follow her “husband” Chance and find out the scoop on what he is going. Little does she know that she is going to end up in the hospital after being hit by a For Lease sign from an exploding building which also has everyone convinced she has lost her mind when no one else can see Chance except for her. This throws her into a series of events that she cannot control with out a little help from Uncle Joey (and yes, Uncle Joey will “fix” things for you) and Tino who owns the deli but has other talents up his sleeve.
I read this book almost in one sitting. It reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, they are both strong female characters, have overbearing Italian mothers and always seem to find themselves in a bit of danger but luckily have friends and family to help bail them out.
If you like to laugh you will love this book….like I said, I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it at work (just don’t tell my boss!). You won’t be disappointed.