On location in Boston, bad-boy actor Jumbo Nelson is accused of the rape and murder of a young woman. From the start the case seems fishy, so the Boston PD calls on Spenser to investigate. Things don't look so good for Jumbo, whose appetites for food, booze, and sex are as outsized as his name. He was the studio's biggest star, but he's become its biggest liability.
In the course of the investigation, Spenser encounters Jumbo's bodyguard: a young, former football-playing Native American named Zebulon Sixkill. He acts tough, but Spenser sees something more within the young man. Despite the odd circumstances, the two forge an unlikely alliance, with Spenser serving as mentor for Sixkill. As the case grows darker and secrets about both Jumbo and the dead woman come to light, it's Spenser-with Sixkill at his side-who must put things right.
She was an ex-wife, ex-lawyer and soon-to-be ex-owner if her restaurant didn't turn around. To top things off, Margo Evans's ex was getting married again. What if her two children preferred their new stepmom?
But all was not lost. A new lunchtime regular, Robert Brooks, seemed likely to add some spice to her life--or he would if a single mom hadn't recently left him standing at the altar, wrenching away the child he'd begun to love.
Could Margo coax the conservative banker to swallow his fear of women with kids? And show him to a table for four?
This was supposed to be paradise.
That's why Tim Wainwright moved his three children to Williamston, Tennessee, population 123. It was to be a refuge from the tragedy that had fractured their lives, a place where Tim could forget his mistakes.
That's what the place meant to Nancy Mayfield. The veterinary technician thought she had finally achieved balance and peace in her life, and had put her past behind her.
Except no one and no place is perfect -- not even Williamston. But maybe two imperfect people make one whole lot of sense.
"Rhian's Rooftop Resolutions: 1. Write a children's book
2. Learn to play basketball
3. Have a summer fling"
Between caring for her orphaned nephew and working as a tech writer, Rhian MacGregor has spent several years perfecting the art of abstinence. But the arrival of Nathan Delaney-- her gorgeous housepainter-- has her contemplating a new instruction manual: "Seducing Your Handyman."
She's not thinking of getting serious, of course. She's only got the summer to herself before it's back to real life. Besides, Rhian doesn't "do" serious, because the consequences are too painful.
Just as they will be when she finds out who Nathan really is...
The past always comes back to bite Zoe McInnes. So of course everybody believes she's to blame when her former father-in-law strokes out in the middle of a fight...with her. Thank God the man's going to be okay.
But--of course--Zoe ends up behind bars.And of course the very sexy man she thought her lawyer had sent to bail her out turns out to be none other than Gideon Tate, the estranged brother of her late husband. Impossible as it should be, he seems to really get Zoe, despite her past involvement with his family. He seems to admire the job she does defending the abused women in her shelter. He even seems to love her just a little bit.... Must appearances always be deceiving?
The body in the trunk was just the beginning.
Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable "retirement" with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knocko Moynihan and his wife, Robbie, who also happens to be Rebecca's twin. But what initially appears to be a low-level mob hit takes on new meaning when a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach.
Stressed by the case, his failed relationship with his ex-wife, and his ongoing battle with the bottle, Jesse needs something to keep him from spinning out of control. When private investigator Sunny Randall comes into town on a case, she asks for Jesse's help. As their professional and personal relationships become intertwined, both Jesse and Sunny realize that they have much in common with both their victims and their suspects-and with each other.
