Bad to the Bone

Don't mess with North Carolina's Casey Jones - smart mouth ex-con, unlicensed PI and reluctant partner to a Barry White wannabe. Casey's big and bad, with attitude to match her altitude. Especially when she's been double-crossed.At first, Casey proves a sucker for the fragile blonde who claims her estranged husband has disappeared with their child. But when Casey locates the fugitive spouse a little too easily, she begins to suspect that the lovely Tawny Bledsoe has played her for a...
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Don't mess with North Carolina's Casey Jones - smart mouth ex-con, unlicensed PI and reluctant partner to a Barry White wannabe. Casey's big and bad, with attitude to match her altitude. Especially when she's been double-crossed.At first, Casey proves a sucker for the fragile blonde who claims her estranged husband has disappeared with their child. But when Casey locates the fugitive spouse a little too easily, she begins to suspect that the lovely Tawny Bledsoe has played her for a fool. Especially when Casey gets stiffed on the fee, then finds herself embroiled in a murder case with Tawny's name written all over it. Bad check in hand and a bad taste in her mouth, Casey resolves to stop Tawny once and for all, but the battle quickly turns personal with Tawny proves more than a match for the the irrepressible Casey. Ego rattled, Casey laces up her high-tops to track her nemesis to Florida for a Saturday night cat fight. Casey must leave her sweet-and-sour southern ways far behind in order to prove that Tawny Bledsoe is one bad to the bone babe who belongs behind bars - no matter what it takes to bring her down.From Publishers Weekly:Raleigh, N.C., gumshoe, 160-pound Casey Jones (first introduced in Legwork) has more than her usual hassles. Her current beau, a cop, is berating her for agreeing to look for evidence that could overturn a woman's death sentence. The woman supposedly killed her husband, another cop. Not only does Casey run smack into several police departments who won't help her, but someone tries to kill her. And whenever she seems close to getting a break on the case, she turns up near a dead body and the police are certain she's involved. All the while, Casey tries to fortify herself with doughnuts, fried chicken and just about anything else, at least until she can sort out her case and her love life. Casey's size and tough manner belie her Southern roots; in fact, she wants a man to wait on her and woo her but only on her terms. ("I've kept telling him that he's going to have to kiss my .45 caliber ass for the next twenty years in order to atone.") The atmosphere is thick with greasy foods and pervasive corruption, but Casey makes this is a delightfully funny read, perfect for a rainy afternoon or long train ride.