R. P. Dahlke

Second in the Dead Red mystery series featuring Aero Ag pilot Lalla Bains:"This book is not exactly a Valentine, but by golly, if you have a mystery lover in your life, Dead Red Heart is sure to please." Eileen Granfors: http://eileengranfors.blogspot.com/Sheila Deeth http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/2012/02/paper-doesnt-break.html "...Great characters and well-drawn Modesto CA location--I'll be looking out for more and drinking 2-star lively cups of coffee as I read them. @SheilaDeeth"…entertaining, suspenseful, totally unexpected, and has a love story mingled in with it." MariLou Georges for 5 star review of A Dead Red Heart confessionsofreader.blogspot.com"Red Heart is on my list of favorites and I am looking forward to reading the next one in this series." Kellie Rix ReviewerWhen a lovesick, homeless veteran litters her vintage red caddy with paper snowflakes, Lalla Bains, Aero Ag pilot figures it's time for a showdown. Unfortunately, someone else has the same idea leaving Lalla with a dying man at her feet, and only his strange last words, “The more there is, the less you see," as a clue to his killer.Compounding life her tightwad, widowed father becomes a born-again ladies man, a disreputable competitor tries to push her out of business, and last but not least, her antennae twitches that the sultry redhead in Modesto's police department may be vying for Sheriff Caleb Stone's affections.It soon becomes crystal clear that the police are totally off base on this murder investigation and someone else is going to have to suit up to solve this case. Someone who is just exasperating, pushy, and tenacious enough to get the job done—and that person will be none other than:Ms. Lalla Bains.

Humorous Mystery, Amateur Sleuth Woman Protagonist

A Dead Red Heart

"Janet Evanovich meets aero-ag pilots." The Kindle Book ReviewWhen a late in the season emergency forces Lalla Bains to accept a greenhorn ag pilot for her dad's cropdusting business, she sighs in relief, After all, he comes highly recommended, his physical is spotless, and with a name like Dewey Treat, what could possibly go wrong? Then her quirky relatives arrive from Texas and things go south in a hurry: Dewey Treat drops dead, his tearful widow clobbers Sherriff Caleb Stone with his own gun and makes a run for it. Lalla, convinced the widow is innocent, sets out to prove it-against the express wishes of fiancé Caleb. Feds, local law, suspicious ag-pilots, nutso relatives, and her daddy's new sidekick, Bruce the goat, make life a living hell for Lalla. Will her nosey nature solve the crime and save the day? Or put them all in mortal danger?"I'm so happy that Lalla Bains is back! This is my favorite book of the three and it's all there: crime, mystery, suspense and great characters! I really liked the glimpses into Lalla's thoughts as she goes back and forth with new theories. Her dad completely lost in a house full of women as Lalla's great-aunt and her cousin (Pearlie) come from Texas for her wedding is hilarious. I Matos, Amazon review"This author is an exceptional talent bringing her characters to life--you feel like you've met them before! My only regret--I am finished reading and have to wait who knows how long for my next "fix" from this author! Read it and enjoy!" Tech Teacher, Amazon ReviewAlso at Amazon/Kindle

A Dead Red Oleander

Twice divorced NY model, Lalla Bains, now runs her dad's Crop-Dusting business in Modesto, California where she's hoping to dodge the inevitable fortieth birthday party. But when her trophy red '58 Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask why a widowed piano teacher, who couldn't possibly see beyond the hood ornament, was found strapped in the driver's seat. Reeling from an interrogation with local homicide, Lalla is determined to extricate herself as a suspect in this strange murder case. Unfortunately, drug running pilots, a cross-dressing convict, a crazy Chihuahua, and the dead woman's hunky nephew throw enough road blocks to keep Lalla neck deep in an investigation that links her family to a twenty-year old murder only she can solve.

A Dead Red Cadillac

Thinking to jump start their careers as private investigators, cousins Lalla and Pearlie Bains buy into it with a local P.I.Unfortunately, their nifty plan starts circling the drain when they discover he's a blackmailing, two-timing, client stealing dirtbag.But before they can confront him, his unscrupulous business practices end in his untimely death. Now the duo have to scramble to save their business. They will have to corral a wall-climbing Apache ninja, pacify their former boss's greedy ex-wives and nail their partner's killer...before they end up murdered too. All they need is a miracle or two.

#2 in the Dead Red Mystery Series

A Dead Red Miracle

A successful, but reclusive young artist with a secret life.A wannabe lawman and his dotty gun-toting granddadAn abandoned mine pitA curious dad and a very dead police chief When Lalla and her dad take a trip to Arizona to inspect her new property, Dad disappears. Luckily, Lalla enlists the help of a local tracker and finds him unharmed, but in the bottom of a mine pit . Only problem is, he's got company--a very dead local police chief. Then too, less than a mile away, a young artist is found murdered. What're the chances that these two murders are going to be related? Well, if you're Lalla Bains, you don't guess, you start looking for the killer!

A Dead Red Alibi

Bleary-eyed and sleep deprived after a long overnighter into Mexico, solo sailor and SFPD police detective, Katrina Hunter, thinks the mermaid twenty yards behind her thirty-two foot Westsail is nothing more than a sailor's hallucination But everything she knows about floaters convinces her to turn her boat around for another look. Now, alone and isolated in the Mexican port's police station for the last six hours, she's convinced that reporting the body of a floater to authorities was a mistake. Even the arrival of a handsome, if somewhat dour, Mexican/Italian investigator, does nothing to dispel her growing anxiety that she's about to be charged with the murder.Chief Inspector, Raul Vignaroli, is as surprised by the attractive solo-sailor as he is to find that she's a respected member of the San Francisco police force, and after some well-placed phone calls he's sure that he's found the perfect partner to help him solve a murder, if not the cure for his broken heart.Released, she's free to go. But leaving the police station hits a snag when two policemen march in, dragging a listless prisoner between them. But before Katy can dodge them for the exit, the prisoner raises his head and a startling pair of aquamarine eyes meet hers.He straightens his back, wincing at the angle of his cuffed wrists. "What the... Whisper?"Suddenly, the sound of the ceiling fan is terribly loud. Blood pounds in her ears, her mouth goes dry, her palms are damp and her feet are nailed to the floor. In a knee jerk reaction, she hisses, "Don't call me that!" A mermaid, a bald parrot, the past she'd hoped to leave behind and perhaps the love of her life... all in A Dangerous Harbor. http://amzn.to/uWzIUl

R. P. Dahlke

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