In Los Angeles in 1870, life was cheap and water could cost you everything. Then, the most powerful man in town was the Zanjero, or water overseer. And he was often the most corrupt, as well. When Zanjero Bert Rivers turns up dead in the irrigation ditch, or zanja, leading to young widow Maddie Wilcox's vineyards, Maddie has the odd feeling he was murdered. Then the undertaker's wife, Mrs. Sutton, confirms that Rivers was shot, and not just hit on the head. Maddie finds herself drawn into finding the killer, first to see justice done, and then to save the skin of the one person she knows did not do it - the town's most infamous madam, Regina Medina. Maddie quickly discovers that Mr. Rivers was not the kind, upstanding civic benefactor he presented himself as, but a most despicable man who preyed on the weak and vulnerable, and cheated everyone else. With nearly everyone having a reason to kill the zanjero, Maddie stumbles on more than a few secrets and the terrible truth about the people she thought were her friends.

One inoffensive drunkard. So many reasons to kill him. A bold shooting ends the life of Mr. Hewitt, the buggy manufacturer on a cold night in December, 1872. Physician and winemaker Maddie Wilcox is particularly puzzled, since it was clear that Mr. Hewitt was soon to die of his own dissipation. Nonetheless, she is drawn into searching out his killer by the grieving widow. Maddie soon finds out that there were several people who might have been offended by Mr. Hewitt, including those hoping to bring the Southern Pacific railroad to Los Angeles. As Maddie battles the usual winter colds and her own homesickness, the local men begin vying for her affections. Soon, Maddie realizes that she is searching for a killer determined to win the prize, no matter what the cost.

A night of chaos leads to more murders Physician and winemaker Maddie Wilcox has always despaired of how violent Los Angeles is. But one night, in October 1871, the pueblo explodes in a riot and eighteen Chinese men are lynched. Shaken to her core and frustrated that she couldn't have done more to stop the violence, Maddie throws herself into her work, grateful that her three Chinese field hands were safe on her rancho that most terrible of nights. Until one of them is found strangled in her vineyard. At first, the murder seems like a random act against the scapegoated Chinese. Then a second of the three Chinese hands is murdered in the same way. Is the killer acting out against the Chinese, in general, or only those working on Maddie's rancho? And if the latter, what does the killer expect to get? A distinctive boot print and a bit of jewelry are all Maddie and her friends have to go on, as Maddie continues to battle the usual panoply of injuries and rampant diseases that plague the pueblo. Surrounded by prejudice, daunted by her own limitations, Maddie's hold on her passions starts slipping. Can she keep her temper in check long enough to find the killer?

When the unmentionable stalks the pueblo It starts when the inheritance that Lavina Gaines was to receive is stolen by her brother Timothy. Then an old Indian healing woman is murdered. Winemaker and physician Maddie Wilcox wants to find the person responsible for Mama Jane's death, but is also occupied with another killer - the measles. When Lavina's friend Julia Carson dies trying to rid herself of a pregnancy, Lavina asks Maddie's help finding the man responsible for Julia's child. Soon after, Lavina is killed and her murder bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Mama Jane's. The only motive Maddie can find involves Julia's death, which is not the sort of thing one talks about. Not only that, Lavina’s nether garments are missing. How does a proper lady in 1872 get the answers she needs to stop a killer determined to stop her first?

It's October, 1870, and once again, violence has errupted on the streets of Los Angeles. This time, City Marshal gets into a gunfight with his deputy Joseph Dye, and is severely wounded. Fortunately, winemaker and physician Maddie Wilcox is on the scene to take care of the marshal. But the next day, she finds that the marshal has been smothered in his bed. The morning after the marshal's death, red paint is splashed all over the front porch of his home, and a list of his sins posted on the front.The list of people with grievances against the fiery-tempered marshal is long. But then another prominent citizen has his sins posted and house front splattered. Maddie takes an interest in the vandalism in the hopes of finding Marshal Warren's killer. But she soon finds out that she is up against a killer driven by a profound longing, and who is prepared to do the worst to keep that most basic of human desires: a home.

The stage is set for a major undercover operation Three students have been murdered on a university campus in Kansas. Sid Hackbirn, Lisa Wycherly, and their son Nick Flaherty are sent in as the Devereaux family to find the killer. The local police can’t know that the three students were also KGB moles finishing their training to assimilate into American society. Lisa poses as a theatre student to protect the KGB operative overseeing the student moles. Sid takes on teaching history to coordinate with the rest of their team. Between faculty politics, Sid’s chauvinistic colleagues, and Lisa and Nick getting cast in a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III, there are plenty of suspects and little time to check them out. With the help of their teammates, Sid and Lisa take on one of their most challenging cases yet.

Come, share the joy… It’s The Big Day. Sid Hackbirn and Lisa Wycherly are getting married. But in the days and weeks before the wedding, the pair discover that there is something very strange going on with their work as ultra-top-secret counter-espionage agents. Courier drops are coming in without the usual processing. The bad guys tailing them are unusually persistent. Then Sid and Lisa take off for their honeymoon only to find that the nice, relaxing vacation in England that they had planned will be anything but. They’re being trained for their new job and will be touring the European continent, instead. Skiing in Gstaad, Switzerland, touring Venice, Italy, doesn’t sound so bad, except that the two get sucked into a dangerous plot, with bad guys trying to kill them. Still, trying to figure out what the potential killers are planning might actually be easier than trying to figure out how to be married.

It doesn't mean they're not out to get you Lisa Wycherly and Sid Hackbirn find themselves up against a relentless enemy and about to get the shock of their lives in book nine of the Operation Quickline series. First, there's the wedding. Not Sid and Lisa's, but her cousin Maggie's, where Sid and his son, Nick, raise all sorts of eyebrows. Then there's the attempt on Sid's life. Then Sid and Lisa's good friends are recruited into their top secret organization. Then there's Lisa's sister being jealous, and a new house getting close to being ready, and Sid and Lisa's own wedding to work on, and Nick bringing home every bug there is at his new school and sharing it with his parents. Being highly-trained top secret counter-intelligence agents will only help so far as the circles of family complications ripple outward. Sid and Lisa try to cope with the multiple surprises as they train their two friends and track down a ruthless killer determined to take both of them out.

Finally, it's real love... Now what? Lisa Wycherly's surprise birthday party ends in a terrifying disaster when she's kidnapped off the street. Her partner, Sid Hackbirn, is so devastated that he loses his interest in sleeping around - the one thing keeping the two of them apart. The kidnapping gets messy enough when it comes to light that the kidnappers got the wrong target. There's also a defecting KGB agent playing games with the CIA, who are involved with the Colombian kidnappers. Then Lisa's recovery sets in motion a whole other set of challenges as she and Sid deal with her trauma and try to get the KGB agent under control, only to find that Sid's randy past will continue to haunt them. The only thing worse? Figuring out how to be a couple.

There's always a way in... Jannie Miller finds people. The only person she can't find is her mother, who supposedly perished in a tornado, but is deep in hiding from Jannie's abusive father. When Jannie's ex-boyfriend, FBI agent Brent Mikkelson, hires Jannie to find Tanya Coleman, a young witness to a vicious murder, he unwittingly drags Jannie into the violence. Set in Los Angeles, Jannie soon suspects that Tanya might have more to her than anyone would guess. She's been working for Wheeling Corp., a think tank that only pretends to be benevolent. When Jannie gets too close, her mother comes out of hiding to warn Jannie off, but then accepts her daughter into the ragtag group of ethical computer hackers intent on bringing Wheeling down. It's not just Wheeling's unethical behavior. The group has discovered that the think tank is writing a virus that could bring the American economy to its knees. It's a race against time and a hired assassin, as Jannie comes to know a mother who never really abandoned her and faces a boyfriend who couldn't be there for her.