Secret Lives Mysteries Series by Mark de Castrique

Ethel Fiona Crestwater is used to being underestimated. At seventy-five years old, she looks like someone's grandma, though she's never married or had children; petite and a bit frail, she's not a threat to anyone. Or is she? When someone shoots one of her boarders dead in front of the boardinghouse she runs for government agents, Ethel springs into action, much to the surprise of her distant cousin, Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university... moreEthel Fiona Crestwater is used to being underestimated. At seventy-five years old, she looks like someone's grandma, though she's never married or had children; petite and a bit frail, she's not a threat to anyone. Or is she? When someone shoots one of her boarders dead in front of the boardinghouse she runs for government agents, Ethel springs into action, much to the surprise of her distant cousin, Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence, and speed-dial the Secret Service director, Jesse realizes there's much more to Ethel than appearances suggest.But when Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decide it's time to launch their own unofficial investigation. With no one to trust but each other, these double-first-cousins-twice-removed form an unlikely bond and learn that the only thing truly worth risking your life for is family. less

"A bewitching political thriller."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"Ethel looks like Marple but acts like Marlow." —Kirkus Reviews?In a case deciding the future of clean energy, everything hinges on how the chief justice of Supreme Court will lean. DANGEROUS WOMEN stirs up the perfect cocktail of ingenious spy-craft and political intrigue of Thomas Perry's The Old Man brightened with the charming, uncanny energy of Killers of a Certain Age... more"A bewitching political thriller."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"Ethel looks like Marple but acts like Marlow." —Kirkus Reviews?In a case deciding the future of clean energy, everything hinges on how the chief justice of Supreme Court will lean. DANGEROUS WOMEN stirs up the perfect cocktail of ingenious spy-craft and political intrigue of Thomas Perry's The Old Man brightened with the charming, uncanny energy of Killers of a Certain Age. This urgent, cleverly plotted high stakes thriller is set in motion by botched attack on two law clerks leaving one dead and the other in a coma. The ensuing cover up leaves a string of bodies and too many players at cross-purposes. It also leaves Chief Justice Clarissa Baxter with a target on her back.We'll need an off the grid hero with friends in high enter retired FBI agent-turned-boardinghouse landlady, Ethel Fiona Crestwater (legend) and her double-first-cousin-twice-removed Jesse Cooper (sidekick). Although in her mid-seventies, Ethel is no bumbling amateur sleuth; she's a seasoned pro with razor-sharp instincts and Bond-worthy skills. College-aged Jesse brings tech savvy and boundless enthusiasm, along with an innate talent for intrigue. Together, the unlikely duo will face malicious back-stabbing political sycophants, conniving lobbyists, and a motivated assassin bent on removing the Chief Justice from the equation—along with Ethel, who stands defiantly between the hitman and his payday. less