Jennifer Crusie

Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding, a missing necklace, two annoyed flamingos, and a dog named Rhett and you've got a recipe for a sexy, hilarious novel about the disastrous side of true love… Agnes Crandall's life goes awry when a dognapper invades her kitchen one night, seriously hampering her attempts to put on a wedding that she's staked her entire net worth on.  Then a hero climbs through her bedroom window.  His name is Shane, no last name, just Shane, and he has his own problems:  he's got a big hit scheduled, a rival trying to take him out, and an ex-mobster uncle asking him to protect some little kid named Agnes.  When he finds out that Agnes isn't so little, his uncle has forgotten to mention a missing five million bucks he might have lost in Agnes's house, and his last hit was a miss, Shane's life isn't looking so good, either.  Then a bunch of lowlifes come looking for the money, a string of hit men show up for Agnes, and some wedding guests gather with intent to throw more than rice.  Agnes and Shane have their hands full with greed, florists, treachery, flamingos, mayhem, mothers of the bride, and--most dangerous of all--each other.  Agnes and the Hitman is the perfect combination of sugar and spice, sweet and salty--a novel of delicious proportions.

Sophie Dempsey is content living a quiet life filming wedding videos until an assignment brings her to Temptation, Ohio. From the moment she drive into town, she gets a bad feeling; Sophie is from the wrong side of the tracks and everything in Temptation is a little too right. And when she has a run-in with the town's unnervingly sexy mayor, Phineas Tucker, making a little movie turns out to be more than a little dangerous. Yield to oncoming desire... All Sophie wants to do is film the video and head home. All Phin wants to do is play pool with the police chief and keep things peaceful. They both get more than they bargained for when Sophie's video causes an uproar and the proper citizens of Temptation set out to shut them down. Welcome to temptation... As events spiral out of control, Sophie and Phin find themselves caught in a web of gossip, blackmail, adultery, murder, and really excellent sex. All hell breaks loose in Temptation as Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble...and in love.

Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes and keeps him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again. But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all—true love.

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom--from the ex-husband, freedom from their stuffy suburban home, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed--a puppy. A bouncy, adorable puppy. Instead she gets...Fred. Overweight, middle-aged, a bit smelly and obviously depressed, Fred is light-years from perky. But he does manage to put Nina in the path of Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger-by-a-decade neighbor. Alex seems perfect--he's a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor--but the age gap convinces Nina that anyone but Alex would be better relationship material. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young, dog-loving doc she wants to sit and stay!

Matilda Goodnight and Davy Dempsy are both trying to get the upper hand with the gorgeous gold-digging Clea Lewis, but they will forge a temporary if reluctant alliance to take on an inept art collector, a disgruntled heir, an exasperated hitmat, and a seductive femme fatale as they deal with false identities, forged paintings, swindles, and love. 100,000 first printing.

Maddie Faraday's life would be perfect if it weren't for her cheating husband, her suspicious daughter, her gossipy mother, her secretive best friend, her nosy neighbors, and that guy she lost her virginity to twenty years ago who is suddenly back in town... Suddenly, life in southern Ohio just got a little more scandalous.

Quinn McKenzie has always lived what she calls a "beige" life. She's dating the world's nicest guy, she has a good job as a high school art teacher, she's surrounded by family and friends who rely on her, and she's bored to the point of insanity. But when Quinn decides to change her life by adopting a stray dog over everyone's objections, everything begins to spiral out of control. Now she's coping with dog-napping, breaking and entering, seduction, sabotage, stalking, more secrets than she really wants to know, and two men who are suddenly crazy...for her.

Emotionally numb from her divorce 18 months earlier, Nell Dysart is about to waken with a vengeance. When she takes a job as office manager for McKenna Investigations, she`s determined to reorganize, redecorate, and revamp the stuck-in-the-`50s surroundings, but she runs smack-dab into senior partner Gabe McKenna, the immovable object to her irresistible force. Gabe likes the dated ambiance just fine and doesn`t want a thing changed, but he soon learns that nothing in his life is going to stay the same now that Nell has arrived.Rough and gruff, but with a heart of gold, Gabe is just what Nell needs tojump-start her hormones. Nell`s formerly dull life is suddenly wildly active, for not only is she lusting after Gabe (and vice versa), but there`s also a case of embezzlement to uncover, a dog to steal, and bribery to investigate. And, oh yes, there are those very cold, very dead bodies in the freezer.Fast Women has well-rounded characters, an interesting mystery to resolve, and author Jennifer Crusie`s trademark humor. In addition, Crusie gives readers a little something extra in her exploration of the emotional stages of divorce, the viability of marriage, and the value of self-honesty--all of which add up to an excellent fictional tale layered with a thought-provoking look at contemporary culture. --Lois Faye Dyer

You're invited to spend the weekend with three extraordinary sisters… When she was sixteen, Dee Fortune kidnapped her two younger sisters and ran from danger. Now twenty-nine, she's still trying to control her shape-shifting power--no easy task when Danny James shows up one Friday morning with his deadly smile and dangerous questions about the past. Lizzie is determined to save her family from financial ruin by turning straw into gold; now if she could only stop turning forks into bunnies. Then Elric, a sorcerer, appears one Friday--annoyed with the chaos Lizzie is creating in the universe and in his heart. . . . The youngest Miss Fortune, Mare, towers above her sisters but her telekinetic power is dwarfed by their gifts. She spends her days at Value Video!! and her nights contemplating the futility of her existence. But then a gorgeous Value Video!! VP and Mare's long lost love turn up. . .and they all turn up the heat on a weekend that no Fortune will soon forget!

A timeless tale from the first name in romantic comedy - Jennifer Crusie! OBJECTIVE: Find Man Must be Rich, Handsome, and Successful Kate Svenson is attractive, successful, a brilliant businesswoman - and miserable. After three failed engagements, she realises it's time for a PLAN...and organised, detailed agenda with a clear goal: finding Mr. Right. The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich, distinguished and ambitious - just her type. And they're dropping like flies around her...at least, that's how Jake Templeton views the situation. After he's stuck pulling her latest reject out of the swimming pool, Jake's convinced this femme fatale is trouble. Especially for him. But can a man who's sworn off ambition for good and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder find common ground in the unpredictable territory called the heart, where the word proposal takes on a very different meaning...?

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne; she's takeout Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer; she was raised in a commune. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants...him. But there's no way Tess will play second fiddle to his job. Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée on a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's trying to convince Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the second book in a new series. Liz Danger is a ghostwriter, trapped in her old hometown for the summer. Good thing she has Vince Cooper, her recurring one-night stand living down by the river in his old diner car, making her feel happy and safe and normal until September when she’ll be leaving again, although she’s starting to wonder if she really wants to. Vince Cooper is a cop in a town with a shady new housing development that’s bringing a lot of armed strangers, a corrupt mayor, a police chief boss under fire, and an idiot blogger stirring up trouble. Good thing his recurring one-night stand is sticking around for the summer. The only drawback? He’s not looking forward to the empty space Liz Danger will leave behind her when she goes in September. Treacherous small-town politics, a rust belt biker gang, a widowed ex who doesn’t understand the word “no,” a seven-year-old in need of a temporary mom, a flamboyant blonde boss who needs watched at all times, exploding family secrets, arson, murder, and three hundred and ninety-two soaking wet teddy bears later, Liz and Vince will come face to face with the madman burning down their town, and even worse, with their imploding relationship. “A comic caper and raucous romance. . . laugh out loud funny.” Kirkus Reviews on Agnes and the Hitman “A sex, sassy, and smart combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible.” Booklist on Don’t Look Down Rest in There’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

From the NY Times Bestselling duo that wrote Agnes and the Hitman, the first book in the Liz Danger series. Liz Danger has returned home after fifteen years to deliver a giant teddy bear for her mother’s birthday (Guilt Red) when a cop with a great ass picks her up for speeding, fixes the missing lug nuts on her back wheel, pulls her out of a ditch, doesn’t give her a ticket, and helps her avoid her family. This is a man with real potential. The rest of the day goes downhill, starting with her finding out that the only man she’s ever loved is getting married to Lavender Blue, the most beautiful woman in southern Ohio. Really, the best thing in her day is that cop with the lug nuts. Vince Cooper still isn't sure about being a cop in Burney, Ohio, a place he just moved to six months ago, since Burney is full of some fairly odd people spaced between long stretches of boredom. Still, considering the dangerous, difficult life he had before Burney as an Army Ranger and New York City cop, boredom is good. Then he picks up Liz Danger for speeding and life gets a lot more interesting. And when he picks her up again in the local bar the next night, he starts to realize that “interesting” doesn’t begin to describe what’s going to happen to him if he pulls Liz into his arms and his life As Liz navigates her dysfunctional family, her flamboyant boss phoning in from Chicago, her still-interested ex, her bridesmaid dress from hell, a dachshund with issues, a disaster of a wedding, assault, murder, and three hundred and ninety-three teddy bears, Vince shows up to get her through, even though he knows that the real peril for him in Burney is the one who came with her own warning label, Liz Danger.

High school physics teacher Lucy Savage is finally getting rid of Bradley--and his hideous green recliner. In fact, her front lawn is littered with her cheating ex-husband's belongings. Because despite standing her up in divorce court, Bradley is out of her life for good. Or so she thinks. When her sister takes her to lunch to celebrate Lucy's single status, all their talk of a no-good louse named Bradley catches the attention of a cop--who wants to arrest the very same Bradley for embezzlement. And Officer Zack Warren figures the lovely Lucy can lead him straight to his target. When someone shoots at Lucy and then blows up her car, Zack insists she needs twenty-four-hour protection. What does he think her three dogs and attack cat are for? Still, he insists on moving right in to Lucy's house... Now there's danger lurking outside and in her own kitchen, bathroom--and bedroom. Or maybe Zack, who looks like a bad boy with that shaggy dark hair and black leather jacket, is really one of the good guys, and just what Lucy needs.