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PEOPLE OFTEN BUY AND SELL SECRETS. WHERE WOULD I GO ON THIS SITE FOR SUCH A TRANSACTION?

  
 
Lieutenant Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels
Jack is every bit as tough as her name; she didn't get to be one of highest ranking officers in Violent Crimes Division by writing parking tickets. She solves the high profile cases, her dogged determination and keen eye for detail every bit as potent as the .38 under her blazer.

Jack is older than her peers in the genre, being a mature woman of forty-six. She has an estranged ex-husband and an outspoken, elderly mom. Her love life is a disaster, mostly due to the demands of the job. To complicate matters, Jack has plenty of time to dwell on her problems because she suffers from insomnia.

But despite the odds, Jack's attitude is positive and even light-hearted. Though the killers she chases are monstrous, Jack balances the horror with a healthy, self-deprecating sense of humor. Because of this, her cases sometimes recall Barney Miller as much as Silence of the Lambs.

Jack Daniels is introduced in Whiskey Sour . It begins with a shocking murder, and promises more to follow. Only Jack's unique skills can save the city from the wrath of a brilliant psychotic who calls himself The Gingerbread Man. But the case escalates beyond anything Jack has ever known when the killer picks her to be the next victim.

Each successive title in the series features Jack Daniels in a life or death homicide investigation, all named after an alcoholic drink. The next two books, Bloody Mary and Rusty Nail, are currently available, and four more are in the works.

In Bloody Mary, Jack is chasing a killer who is leaving body parts around Chicago---each paired with one of Jack's personal belongings.

In Rusty Nail, someone is sending Jack snuff videos. That would normally be bad enough, but the videos echo the earlier Gingerbread Man case. A copycat? Or something even worse?

In Dirty Martini, Jack is chasing a terrorist called The Chemist, who is demanding Chicago pay him off or he'll use biological weapons to kill thousands of people through product tampering.

In Fuzzy Navel (June 2008), Jack is after a trio of urban snipers. That would be enough to keep her hands full, but someone from Jack's past comes calling. Someone seeking revenge.

In Cherry Bomb (June 2009), Jack picks up right where she left off in Fuzzy Navel. Will this be the last in the series? 

Jack has also appeared in several short stories, including On the Rocks and With a Twist, both locked-room mysteries that appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (the latter won 2nd place in the EQMM Reader's Choice Awards.) She's also in the short story BODY SHOTS, available exclusively through Amazon.com as a 49 cent download called FOUR PACK OF JACK with three other stories (Pot Shot, Whelp Wanted, and The One That Got Away) and OVERPROOF, which is available in Chicago Blues edited by Libby Fischer Hellman.
 
Herb Benedict
Jack's partner. Mid-fifties, married, constantly eating snack foods--the easy-going yin to Jack's hard-boiled yang.  Herb is Jack's surrogate big brother, looking out for her even though she outranks him. He appears as Jack's stalwart companion throughout the series.

Herb also appears as the main character in the short story Potshot, available as part of the FOUR PACK OF JACK 49 cent Amazon.com download.
 
Phineas Troutt
Ten years Jack's junior, one of her only friends, he works as a freelance bodyguard. Jack plays pool with Phin once a week, and often seeks his help on difficult cases.

Phin has a life away from Jack, and has appeared twice in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine; once in the story Street Music and once in Suffer. He's also in the story EPITAPH, featured in the Thriller - Stories to Keep You Up All Night  anthology edited by James Patterson and the story BEREAVED featured in the anthology These Guns for Hire  edited by JA Konrath.

Though dying of pancreatic cancer, Phin promises he'll be around for awhile.
 
Harry McGlade
Cross Mike Hammer with Danny DeVito, and you have Harry. The private eye continually pops up as a witness or suspect in Jack's cases, to her continuous annoyance. He and Jack also have a dark and secret past history, that you have to read Whiskey Sour to find out about.

Harry appeared in the story Whelp Wanted, part of the FOUR PACK OF JACK Amazon.com download, and as an extra track for the Brilliance Audio version of Bloody Mary. It's the funniest thing I've ever written.

Harry also appears in TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS, a story featured in the The Strand Magazine #26 and in the soon-to-be-released novella SUCKERS, co-written with Jeff Strand.

Mary Streng
Jack's mom, a former Chicago cop herself, had to play both parents because Jack's father died young. Mary is outspoken, promiscuous, and increasingly fragile in her autumn years.
 
Mr. Friskers
A homeless cat Jack adopts in Bloody Mary.  Unlike the lovable, crime-solving critters that frequent so many modern mysteries, Mr. Friskers is mean- tempered and downright dangerous.  Jack constantly questions why she keeps him around.
 
Alan Daniels
Jack's ex-husband. The one true love of Jack's life, who left because he couldn't handle the pressures of being married to a cop. But even though they are divorced, their relationship is anything but over.
 
Latham Conger
Jack's boyfriend, sort of. Their on-again/off-again relationship is constantly threatened because Latham is constantly threatened... by the maniacs that Jack hunts.
 
Holly Frakes
Harry McGlade's fiancée. Yeah, apparently even guys like Harry can find someone to love. Holly's first appearance is in Rusty Nail, and she'll be back in future books.
 
WILBUR
First appears in Dirty Martini. If I said any more it would ruin the surprise.

 
 

 
The books in the series are fast-paced, funny, and chilling, written in alternate first person/third person viewpoints--first person for Jack, and third when we delve into the minds of the killers she chases.
 
While the books are thrillers, they closely follow police procedure and realistically delve into behavioral science, forensics, and state-of-the-art crime detecting techniques.

They don't have to be read in order, but for those who are insistent about such things, here's the line-up:
WHISKEY SOUR - 2004
BLOODY MARY - 2005
RUSTY NAIL - 2006
DIRTY MARTINI - 2007
FUZZY NAVEL - 2008
CHERRY BOMB - 2009

Jack's sense of humor, combined with the eclectic cast of characters that she surrounds herself with, keep the tone upbeat and readable. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the books combine "the best qualities of John Sandford and Janet Evanovich into one sleek and enjoyable package."

Who am I to argue?