«Further Adventures of Carlotta Carlyle» by Linda Barnes

Available for the first time in one volume: three delectably puzzling mystery stories—including the Anthony Award–winning story “Lucky Penny”—starring the inimitable taxi-driving Boston private investigator Carlotta Carlyle Six-foot-tall, redheaded ex-cop and Boston-based private eye Carlotta Carlyle is “the genuine article: a straightforward, funny, thoroughly American mystery heroine” (New York Post).Struggling PI Carlotta Carlyle drives a cab at night to make ends meet. She’s almost done with the night shift when a fare tries to rob her, and her moonlighting gig becomes a crime scene. Unfortunately for the thief, nothing ruffles Carlotta. As she figures out why she was targeted, she uncovers startling information. Whether Carlotta is flying cross-country to safeguard a blues musician’s priceless guitar or stopping a killing at Fenway Park, this flame-haired, six-foot-one detective knows to never let a felony get in the way of a good time.In these three stories—“Lucky Penny,” “Miss Gibson,” and “Stealing First,”—acclaimed author Linda Barnes demonstrates precisely what makes Carlotta Carlyle one of mystery fiction’s most distinctive and engaging private detectives.