Hard-Boiled Chicks is a collection of the grittiest, edgiest, and darkest mysteries award-winning Julie Smith has to offer. These stories highlight cold-blooded cop killing and civilian justice gone awry, murder staged as an overdose on New Orleans' streets, and the discovery of a party girl's body in her own gaudy pool. Not for the faint of heart, these hard-as-nails mystery novels chronicle three celebrated female sleuths at their most thick-skinned—and will leave readers steeped in realism ... and shivering. CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION “If it’s gritty realism you’re craving, gently simmered with spicy suspense and marvelously memorable characters, Smith is the perfect New Orleans tour guide.” —The Jackson Clarion-Ledger Sure, New Orleans is known for corruption, but suddenly the good guys get a break—an honest police chief. And then someone guns him down. When a terrifying organization called The Jury takes out the cop-killer, Detective Skip Langdon’s on the case. But no one cares! After all, the guy was a cop-killer. Skip cares really a lot—because she suspects The Jury’s the brainchild of her old nemesis, self-described preacher Errol Jacomine. LOUISIANA LAMENT "From biker bar to college campus, the chase is on ... readers will remain hooked until the killer's comeuppance in the clever conclusion." -Publisher's Weekly One stormy day Talba gets an emergency call from Janessa, the sister she barely knows, and arrives to find a body floating in a swimming pool—the mortal husk of Allyson Brown, known in New Orleans literary circles as the Girl Gatsby. Like Gatsby, Allyson was one of those mysterious rich people who move to town, give amazing parties, and seem made of moonbeams. Investigating, Talba finds the reality behind the Gatsby glamour. OTHER PEOPLE'S SKELETONS Secrets spill out of these pages like hornets out of a nest, each with its own distinct sting, as author Smith weaves a thrill-packed and complicated San Francisco mystery that’s as much about how little we know about our nearest and dearest as it is about whodunit. Rebecca’s shocked when Chris Nicholson, her glamorous law partner, is arrested for murder—but not nearly so shocked as when she discovers Chris can’t come up with an alibi. What she was doing, Chris says, involves a secret so damaging she’d be drummed out of San Francisco legal circles if anyone knew. All she’ll say is what her secret isn’t—crime, drugs, sex, alcohol, addiction, illness (mental or otherwise), or an eating disorder. So what’s left? Sure enough, when Rebecca uncovers it, her world tilts on its axis. Editor's These are complete novels. None is the first in the series—they chosen for their grit and street-savvy. But no problem—none of the series need to be read in order.