Conjoined at the hip?Rika is excited to have snagged her first private investigation client, even if it's just a suspected cheater case. But when she and Nick get inside the supposedly empty house, they find two men in bed together, literally joined at the hip, one dead with a screwdriver sticking out of his eye. Grigore Vatamanu has been murdered the night before their planned separation surgery, and his conjoined twin Teodor must be rushed to the hospital before he dies, too!Nick and Rika learn the twins are the eldest brothers of the Vatamanu family, Cirque de Sorbet's most popular act, and the cheater investigation turns into a murder case. But with a circus full of angry performers, a desperate documentary crew, and the surviving twin's sketchy fiancée, the case is chock-full of possible murderers with little evidence against any of them.As they investigate, Nick is eager to get this relationship nailed down—preferably by...

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Hungrier...Rika's father, Chef Diego Martín, has finally been able to return to Los Angeles after 15 years, brought over to work in the VIP Center restaurant of the Temple of Microtology by its founders. But, a month later, his sous chef is found dead, Diego, missing. Rika is panicked at the thought of losing her one living parent permanently. All she knows is that she has to find her father, and she needs Nick Owen by her side.Not one night passed in the last six months that Nick hasn't lain awake thinking of Rika, even though he's given up hope she'll contact him. It's for the best, anyway. They weren't right for each other. But when she calls and asks him to fly to L.A., nothing can stop him from racing to her side. And when he sees her again, she's even more beautiful than she was last summer. However, he may not be prepared for what he discovers in her hometown, like Rika's formidable grandmother who...

Back to Bolo and Accidental Strippers... Tammy Lynn's neice is dead. Nick Owen can't imagine who would want to kill the cousin he remembers as a sweet little girl. But he's determined not to leave the murder solving to the ridiculous Bolo Sheriff's Office. He takes Rika and Gucci with him, and LeeAnne insists on coming to pay her respects. As the Owen-Green family unites, Nick learns a secret about his own life that rocks him to the core. And, as if things weren't bad enough already, how is it that the one day Nick and Rika investigate separately, she and LeeAnne end up as accidental strippers? When Rika and Nick go looking for a likely suspect, they learn Eliza is not the only one who has met a violent end. Can they solve the murder before one of them becomes a victim?

Loser? Or lunatic?Kiki Villanueva holds a master’s degree from UCLA, is the best second grade teacher ever, and believes she had a psychic dream when she was thirteen in which she was given a list of her future husband’s attributes. Children are her life, and Kiki has good reason to think she may not have any if she doesn’t marry soon. Since typical dating methods haven’t been working out, she decides that when she goes back to L.A. for the summer, she’ll start using the list to sort through potential candidates.When jaded political journalist Mark Bennett confesses to his doctor he no longer finds women—or anything else—exciting, Dr. Chuck is worried he’s depressed and suggests a change of pace. Mark agrees to write a fluff piece for a magazine about people who join high-priced dating services. (His premise is "Losers or Lunatics?") The dating service introduces him to Kiki, and he’s charmed by her...

NEVER take the short cut...Rika Martín wasn't in Bolo, Texas five minutes before she was run off the road, tripped over a dead body, then arrested for murder. And she's not so sure about Nick, the lawyer who's been assigned to her, even when he's shirtless, wearing a cowboy hat, and holding an extra-long hose. (Okay, maybe then.)All Nick Owen can think about is getting out of Bolo, a hometown he never should have returned to. Until he goes to pick up his best friend Gabe—the local judge—for a round of golf and is forced to represent a murder suspect. Gabe, of all people, knows Nick has sworn off murder trials after what happened last time. Unfortunately, he also knows Nick is a damn good trial lawyer. Even worse, this "Paprika Anise Martín"—if you can believe that—seems more determined to solve the murder case than to defend herself against it in court.With claims of devil worshipers in the area and at least one shooter...