Lana Taylor Private Eye

A missing runaway, an uncooperative sheriff, a Native American seer, and a young PI determined to solve a mysterious case in a secretive desert town.

Lana Taylor, young, ambitious, and talented but a little too assertive and suspicious for her own good, is a former NYC police officer who left the force to open her own private detective agency. Lana is hired by a wealthy businessman to find his runaway daughter, Jeni.

The search for Jeni leads to the mysterious town of Desert Mesa, Arizona, located in Arizona's desolate Sonoran Desert. Strangely, whenever Lana mentions Jeni, she is confronted by a wall of silence, fear, and even hostility from the townspeople, who are hiding something that Lana is determined to expose.

Lana is immediately attracted to the handsome and accommodating town sheriff, Derek Reeves. But she soon wonders if her romantic dalliance is true love or if the sheriff is using her to thwart her investigation. And what of the mysterious old gentlemen running a secret mining operation who frighten even the toughest of the town men?

Should Lana have taken the advice of the wise, old Native American woman, Sara Blackwater, who warned, "There is a curse on Desert Mesa and anyone who enters it is doomed. Whomever you are looking for is probably either dead or better off dead. Don't go near the town. I'm warning you."

The narrative is well-crafted, suspenseful, and riveting. For example:

As she struggled against her restraints, she tried screaming, threatening, and even begging her captors, but received only cold, heartless stares in return. As much as she wanted to appear strong, she couldn't hold back her tears. They freely washed down the sides of her face wetting her golden, blonde hair, creating a tiny puddle on the cold, metal table beneath her. They were tears of desperation, fright, and loss of all hope.

One man leaned closer to her face, clearly excited by her tears. His foul odor was almost too much for the girl to bear. With her last ounce of strength, she lifted her right arm quickly and clawed him savagely. He screamed out in agony as the girl's sharp, red fingernails etched five long gashes into the side of his face.

But it was a desperate and futile attempt. Her hand was viciously grabbed by one of the others and held down securely. The leather strap on that wrist was then tightened so painfully that the young girl's fingers began to numb, as if a tourniquet had been applied. The girl was truly at their mercy.

She lay quiet for a moment, her chest heaving after her struggle. She looked at her captors pleadingly, hoping to see in their old faces a glimpse of something human or perhaps a sign of pity. But their visages were without emotion, except for the hunger in their eyes as they looked at her body and licked their lips.

One of her captors pressed her head down onto the metal table, holding it firmly in place. Then she felt a sudden, sharp pain followed by a burning sensation in her neck. Soon she began to feel dizzy but relaxed. Her eyes closed involuntarily, as she drifted off to sleep. Even if her body wanted to continue its hopeless fight, her mind could no longer direct it.

The pretty blonde girl's eyelids fluttered open one last time. She saw her captors looking down on her, smiling at her helplessness. That was her last sight before slipping forever into unconsciousness.

Sample Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put it down. Great Clues

The book moves at a good pace, not too fast or slow. I never got bored. As you read further into the book, the suspense builds up, and there are a few scenes that are truly riveting. I will not discuss the surprise ending but it is great. This is a really entertaining book. I don't know if this is the first in a series, but if it is, I can't wait for the next one.

John