Louisiana Longshot

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon brings you the Miss Fortune series. It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever-in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element. Posing as a former beauty queen turned librarian in a small bayou town seems worse than death to Fortune, but she's determined to fly below the radar until her boss finds the leak and puts the arms dealer out of play. Unfortunately, she hasn't even unpacked a suitcase before her newly inherited dog digs up a human bone in her backyard. Thrust into the middle of a bayou murder mystery, Fortune teams up with a couple of seemingly sweet old ladies whose looks completely belie their hold on the little town. To top things off, the handsome local deputy is asking her too many questions. If she's not careful, this investigation might blow her cover and get her killed. Armed with her considerable skills and a group of elderly ladies the locals dub The Geritol Mafia, Fortune has no choice but to solve the murder before it's too late. Louisiana Longshot is a humorous mystery set in the bayous of southern Louisiana. It has a cozy mystery feel and features a strong woman sleuth in a fish-out-of-water storyline. Louisiana Longshot is the first book in the Miss Fortune series and appeals to readers of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Louisiana Longshot is a free ebook at Google Play. "Southern wit at its best!" - NYT Bestselling author Gemma Halliday "Sinfully funny!" - NYT Bestselling author CC Hunter/Christie Craig “DeLeon is excellent at weaving comedy, suspense and spicy romance into one compelling story.” – RT Book Reviews “I don’t know where she comes up with this funny stuff, but I can’t wait to read the next book…” – Night Owl Reviews “Jana DeLeon has a breezy style with enough of a comic touch to leave you smiling.” – The Romance Reader “Son of a gun, we’re having fun in the bayou!” – Fresh Fiction “The quirky characters keep the action moving…” – Barbara Vey, Publisher’s Weekly Blogger To learn more about Jana and her books visit her at: http://janadeleon.com http://facebook.com/janadeleonauthor @JanaDeLeon

From New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the seventh book in the Miss Fortune series. A force to be reckoned with… During missions as a CIA assassin, Fortune Redding saw and overcame most every obstacle, but Sinful, Louisiana, keeps producing new challenges for her. When a hurricane blows through, it brings a shower of counterfeit money raining down on the tiny bayou town. When the money is linked back to Ahmad, the arms dealer who issued the kill order on Fortune, everyone is worried that her nemesis is far too close for comfort. When Ahmad’s men turn up in Sinful, the situation becomes life-and-death for Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie, and Deputy Carter LeBlanc learns Fortune’s true identity. As Swamp Team 3 rushes to locate the counterfeiter, Fortune hopes to take down Ahmad and free herself from her fake life. But will her relationship with Carter make it now that he knows the truth?

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jana DeLeon brings you the first book in the Ghost-in-Law series. Family can be the death of you... Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law's death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn't slow down Helena one bit. DEA Agent Luc LeJeune is wondering what his undercover assignment investigating the sexy scientist has gotten him into - especially as it seems someone wants her dead. Keeping his secrets while protecting Maryse proves to be easier than fighting his attraction for the brainy beauty. Trouble in Mudbug is a humorous mystery and contemporary romance set in the bayous of southern Louisiana. It is the first book in the New York Times bestselling Ghost-in-Law series. Trouble in Mudbug has a cozy mystery feel and features a strong heroine turned amateur sleuth, a sexy hero, and a ghost unlike any you’ve ever heard of. It appeals to fans of light paranormal, paranormal romance, cozy mysteries and also to fans of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Trouble in Mudbug is a free ebook at Google Play. "Southern wit at its best!" - NYT Bestselling author Gemma Halliday "Sinfully funny!" - NYT Bestselling author CC Hunter/Christie Craig “DeLeon is excellent at weaving comedy, suspense and spicy romance into one compelling story.” – RT Book Reviews “I don’t know where she comes up with this funny stuff, but I can’t wait to read the next book…” – Night Owl Reviews “Jana DeLeon has a breezy style with enough of a comic touch to leave you smiling.” – The Romance Reader “Son of a gun, we’re having fun in the bayou!” – Fresh Fiction “The quirky characters keep the action moving…” – Barbara Vey, Publisher’s Weekly Blogger To learn more about Jana and her books visit her at: http://janadeleon.com http://facebook.com/janadeleonauthor @JanaDeLeon

Death is a roller coaster. The traveling carnival has made its stop in Sinful and everyone is ready for thrilling rides, challenging games, and most importantly, funnel cake. But when a man is murdered in the funhouse and Emmaline LeBlanc is knocked unconscious so the killer can escape, the good times are over. Carter is beside himself wanting to hunt down the man responsible for putting his mother in the hospital, but he can’t investigate when he’s related to one of the victims. Palmer Reed was well known as a boy by most everyone in Sinful for being a sneak, a liar, and sometimes a thief. As an adult, he continued his reign of underachieving and mostly making people angry wherever he went. Now he’s a state police detective and is assigned to the case, but Fortune knows that to get Carter the answers he needs, Swamp Team 3 has to take on the investigation. As they dig deep into the confusion and lies that surround the murder, they uncover a secret that could devastate Carter and Emmaline, but Fortune is determined to discover the truth…whatever that may be.

Let the good times roll? It’s Mardi Gras time and Fortune is looking forward to seeing the spectacle firsthand, but when a visitor to Sinful is murdered during the celebration there, Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie can’t help but wonder what happened. As they start looking into the woman and the family in Sinful she came to visit, their investigation sends them to New Orleans, right at the height of the Mardi Gras celebration. But instead of relaxing a little and enjoying the festivities, Fortune can’t shake the feeling that she’s being watched. When she catches sight of her father in the Mardi Gras crowd, she knows why. Unfortunately, her father’s presence in Louisiana has brought with it a host of terrorists, all with only one thing in mind—locate and terminate Dwight Redding. Can Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie manage to evade the killers long enough to figure out why Dwight has returned from the dead? And will knowing the answer make things worse or better?

Why does the distinction between high and popular art persist in spite of postmodernist predictions that it should vanish? Departing from the conventional view that such distinctions are class-related, Wesley Shrum concentrates instead on the way individuals form opinions about culture through the mediation of critics. He shows that it is the extent to which critics shape the reception of an art form that determines its place in the cultural hierarchy. Those who patronize "lowbrow" art--stand-up comedy, cabaret, movies, and popular music--do not heed critical opinions nearly as much as do those who patronize "highbrow" art--theater, opera, and classical music. Thus the role of critics is crucial to understanding the nature of cultural hierarchy and its persistence. Shrum supports his argument through an inquiry into the performing arts, focusing on the Edinburgh Fringe, the world's largest and most diverse art festival. Beginning with eighteenth-century London playhouses and print media, where performance art criticism flourished, Shrum examines the triangle of mediation involving critics, spectators, and performers. The Fringe is shown to parallel modern art worlds, where choices proliferate along with the demand for guidance. Using interviews with critics and performers, analysis of audiences, and published reviews as well as dramatic vignettes, Shrum reveals the impact of critics on high art forms and explores the "status bargain" in which consumers are influenced by experts in return for prestige.

Just Desserts? It’s November in Sinful and everyone is gearing up for Thanksgiving. But when Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie bag a body on their turkey hunting trip, the quiet enjoyment of fall is over. No one really knew Miles Broussard well, and as he’d recently sold the building his business was in to retire in another state, no one could explain how he’d ended up murdered and dumped in the bayou. Ally Lemarque has been waiting her entire life to open her bakery, and that day finally arrived when she purchased the building from Miles. But when she visits the site late at night and interrupts an intruder, she comes away with a crack on her head and concerns about why someone would break into an empty building. Fortune doesn’t think for a minute that Miles’s murder and the attack on Ally are unrelated. And Swamp Team 3 won’t rest until they’re sure Ally is safe.

‘Til death do us part? Ida Belle, Fortune, and Gertie are gearing up for the big day—Ida Belle’s wedding to Walter—but when the caterer goes missing just a week before the big day, it puts a huge black mark on the joyous celebration. Molly Broussard is no stranger to being in the limelight, so when the former cage fighter turned in her boxing gloves for pots and pans, everyone who knew her was surprised…until they ate her food. From all appearances, Molly took her boat out that day and simply never returned. An extensive search of the bayous finally produces the boat, but there is no sign of Molly. With no evidence of foul play, Sinful residents are ready to conclude that this is simply another tragic and all-too-common accident. Nickel Bordelon spent half of his time in trouble and the other half paying for it. But one thing he knows for certain—Molly was murdered. When he asks Fortune to take the case, she isn’t sure there’s anything to find, but his emotional plea has her agreeing to look into it. As Swamp Team 3 begin their investigation, they find more layers to Molly’s disappearance than in Ida Belle’s wedding cake.