A deliciously quirky whodunit by the bestselling author of SUGARLAND and THE HURRICANE LOVER… Recently widowed private dick Shep Hartigate, a dishonored cop reduced to chasing cheating spouses for a ruthless Houston divorce lawyer, teams up with free-spirited pulp fiction writer Smartie Breedlove to find out who’s killing the inconvenient exes of Texas—including Smartie’s BFF, Charma Bovet, a centerfold with a heart of gold. Could Shep’s gorgeous but unscrupulous employer really have a secret bimbo/mimbo hit list? Or is Smartie Breedlove a few peeps shy of an Easter basket? A colorful cast of problematic lovers, longsuffering family, and stalwart friends (both two-legged and four-legged) close ranks around Smartie and Shep as they sift clues and maneuver to stay alive. Calling on her longtime companions Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Daphne du Maurier, Smartie finds a roadmap to the hardboiled plot twists and U-turns drawing her perilously close to a damaging past that left her scarred and now threatens to destroy her. NYT bestselling ghostwriter, author and indie publisher Joni Rodgers is known for creating characters that resonate, dialogue that crackles with wit, and plots that surprise. If you love a great mystery woven with skill, humor and compassion, KILL SMARTIE BREEDLOVE will not disappoint. Visit www.JoniRodgers.com for bonus content and reading group guide. Kudos for author Joni Rodgers: “Rodgers lives, loves and writes without a safety net.” Entertainment Weekly "Alternately wrenching and humorous...Rodgers' strength is a knack for realistic characters who show their faults unselfconsciously and a womanly wise, laugh-through-tears appreciation of life." Publishers Weekly "Every character resonates with life." Southern Living Magazine "Wise [storytelling] choices and the right amount of grit." Texas Monthly "Rodgers is a pure storyteller. She writes with a wit, lyricism, humanity and joy that make her books impossible to put down." Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin “At its best, her prose is dazzling, risky and intoxicating.” Pam Houston, bestselling author of Waltzing the Cat
Author
NYT bestselling author Joni Rodgers was born into a family of gospel/bluegrass musicians and grew up on stage, opening for huge-haired country music legends of the 60s and 70s. She continued performing until 1994, when she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and used the chemo downtime to complete her first two novels, both of which were published to critical acclaim. Joni's memoir, Bald in the Land of Big Hair (Harper Collins 2001), garnered glowing reviews around the world, was excerpted in Good Housekeeping, condensed by Reader’s Digest, and is still in print after ten years. It also launched Joni's public speaking career and brought her to the attention of celebrities and others who began asking her to help them tell their stories. She's known on both coasts as a ghostwriter, book doctor and memoir guru who applies the fine art of fiction to the creation of well-crafted narrative nonfiction. Between novels and ghostwriting projects, Joni volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and blogs about books and publishing on "Boxing the Octopus". Married to jet plane mechanic/wine maker Gary Rodgers since 1983, Joni is the proud mother of two fine young adults. She lives in Houston, Texas. Her latest book debuted at #6 on the NYT bestseller list. “A mix of Moly Ivins' blowsy wit and Anna Quindlen's suburban logic...Rodgers manages the rare literary feat of being funny and painful in one urgent breath.” ~ Entertainment Weekly
