Misa Ramirez » Lola Cruz Mysteries

Hasta la Vista, Lola!, A Lola Cruz Mystery

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:12:25 +0000

“In Ramirez’s second novel featuring the feisty Latina detective, Dolores “Lola” Cruz is investigating her own death. That is, she is trying to find out why a woman who stole her identity ended up dead. With sexy reporter Jack Callaghan—her on-again, off-again love interest—by her side, Lola finds out that the other Dolores is actually Rosie Gonzalez, a single mother, whose young son has been missing since his mother’s death. Now Lola’s search turns to finding the young boy, which leads her closer to home than she expected. Fans who fell for Lola in Living the Vida Lola (2009) will welcome her smart and snappy return. The suspense here revolves as much around the will-they or won’t-they romance with Jack as it does with the missing boy and mysterious death, leading up to a shocking ending that ties everything together.“ ~ Aleksandra Walker, Booklist

“Ramirez’s saucy second mystery…insightfully explores one of today’s more pervasive crimes…” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

“In this second book of the Lola Cruz Mysteries, Lola (Dolores) Cruz is still going against the wishes of her Mexican parents who want her to be a nun, not a private investigator. Heading out on assignment she follows a woman to yoga class before capturing her on camera in a back alley trying out some interesting Kama Sutra moves with a lover. Back at the office, who should walk in but Jack, her hunky newspaper columnist friend who she wishes would take their relationship further. Just as things are looking promising on the romance front, she gets a hysterical phone call from her mother – Lola has just showed up on the news . . . dead. Being written off as dead puts a huge dent in Lola’s social life, so she springs into action to not only solve who the real victim was but convince people she’s not a ghost but truly alive and kicking. The story mixes elements of mystery, chick lit and romance, making this an enjoyable, laugh-out-loud read.” 7/10 ~Chicklit Club

“Misa Ramirez’ second Lola Cruz mystery, following Living the Vida Lola, is intricate, involving a hot news topic, identity theft. Lola Cruz is an intelligent, willful character, fun to get to know. And, Hasta La Vista, Lola! is filled with a great deal of sexual tension. What’s not to love in this fun mystery?” ~ Lesa’s Book Critiques

“Lola Cruz returns in her second mystery — and her family’s still horrified that she’s more interested in dead bodies than in finding a husband to settle down with. Tightly plotted, with scenes of laugh-out-loud humor, great dialogue and supporting characters, this is a sassy, fun story that will have you waiting impatiently for the next book.” ~Page Traynor, Romantic Times Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars

“The second Cruz whodunit is an engaging Mexican-American mystery with an insightful focus on identity theft. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Lola shows up at her grief “party” and never slows down.” ~Harriet Klausner

Living the Vida Lola

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:37:44 +0000

Dolores Cruz (Lola for short) loves shoes, chicken mole, kung fu (she’s a black belt) and her close-knit family. When her brother’s hunky old high school friend Jack Callaghan moves back to town, Lola falls hard. Now, after a year and a half as an underling at Camacho and Associates, a local private investigation firm, her oh-so-sexy and mysterious boss, Manny Camacho, assigns Lola her first big case: solving the mysterious disappearance of Emily Diggs. Can Lola juggle two men, her loving but demanding family, her PI exams, solve her all-important first case, and shop for fabulous shoes?

Meet the characters! Read Lola and her crew’s On-Line Dating profiles.

Livin’ la Vida Lola is the first book in the Lola Cruz mystery series.

Living the Vida Lola: Excerpt

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:36:53 +0000

∞

Chapter 1

When I was fourteen years old, I snapped pictures of Jack Callaghan doing the horizontal salsa in the back seat of a car with Greta Pritchard. That’s when I knew for sure I’d grow up to be a private eye.

I’d hidden under the bleachers at the high school, followed him to the levy, even disguised my voice and called his mother to find out his plans so I’d know where to set up my surveillance. It had taken a month of steadfast determination, and at least four rolls of film, before I got proof that Jack was messing around–no, having sex–with Greta while he was supposedly dating Laura something-or-other.

My mother called him un mujeriego–a player. I didn’t care. I just wanted him to do to me what he’d done to Greta.

Back in high school, Jack and my brother, Antonio, made their way through the cheerleaders, then the Future Female Leaders of America. But Jack didn’t give me, little Lola Cruz, the time of day.

“I’ll never get to do that with him!” I’d wailed to my sister Gracie when I showed her the pictures I had of him and Greta.

She’d looked longingly at the photos. “Yeah,” she sighed heavily. “But at least you can look at him whenever you want.” Then she got serious. “And, more importantly, you discovered what you’re good at. Now you won’t be stuck working at Abuelita’s for the rest of your life.”

If I hadn’t been determined to figure out why the hottest guy at school, and my brother’s best friend, completely ignored me, I might never have discovered my proclivity for surveillance and undercover work.

Gracie was right. I’d never confess that I’d taken photos of Jack, but once I had them in my hot little hands, there was no way I was parting with them. He was my fantasy.

My favorite picture of Jack still had a place in my dresser drawer, fifteen years later. He stood bare-chested, his business with Greta was done. He was just seventeen years old and his smoky blue eyes seemed trained directly on me, as if he was staring through the shrubs to where I was hidden.

I was pretty sure Jack Callaghan didn’t know I’d been a teenage stalker. Even though I still had a secret longing that he’d do to me what he’d done to Greta Pritchard, my embarrassment at invading his privacy, and my anger that I’d never be anything more to him than Antonio’s little sister, kept me far, far away from him. I avoided him at all costs so that I wouldn’t break down and confess in a moment of guilty Catholic repentance.

I’d been in and out of relationships, but those old photos of Jack reminded me of what I’d lost, even though I’d never had it. Or him.

Still, while Jack–and his untamed libido–had never given me an orgasm (well, at least not person-to-person), he had done something earth-moving for me. I was Dolores Cruz, a.k.a. Lola P.I. Thanks to him, I’d answered my calling.