Nikki Harper Mysteries

Set in Hollywood, The Bad Always Die Twice is the first of a wildly entertaining series set amidst the bright lights, big egos, and Botoxed brows of Hollywood. It is partly the glitz and glamour of Jackie Collins novels and partly the LA streets of hard-boiled James Ellroy. Who better to tell this tale than Cheryl Crane, daughter of Hollywood legend Lana Turner and actor-restaurateur Joseph Stephen Crane? Cheryl was involved in the Johnny Stompanato scandal of the same period. She allegedly killed the hoodlum because he threatened to kill her mother. This mystery features Nikki Harper, the daughter of a screen goddess, who is raised in a completely dysfunctional home populated by a cast of crazies but who did not follow in her mother's footsteps. Instead, Nikki is a real estate agent who wants a quiet, comfortable life with a little love and happiness thrown in. Up until now, Nikki always thought that dead meant dead. But then, film icon Rex March turns up freshly murdered in the bed of Nikki's best friend after being reported dead six months ago. A little distrustful of law enforcement, Nikki feels compelled to solve the murder on her own. Her acquaintances range from the pinnacle of Hollywood royalty to the bottom of Tinseltown's barrel, including a not-so-grieving widow, a conniving younger lover, a best friend with secrets, a jilted mistress, a "closeted" confidante, a wacky neighbor, and a scheming business partner. Rex has a gaping hole where his eye used to be, and Nikki knows a lot of people with motives for the murder. The killer is getting ready for a repeat performance, so Nikki must act fast before her own screen fades to black.

Cheryl Crane, daughter of movie icon Lana Turner, brings her Hollywood-insider expertise to the second book in a star-studded mystery series featuring celebrity realtor-turned-sleuth Nikki Harper and her screen goddess mother, Victoria Bordeaux. Nikki Harper is a superstar among Hollywood realtors. Among private investigators however, she's strictly amateur, and her first case was a Waterworld-sized disaster. But when a body turns up in a dumpster behind Victoria Bordeaux's mansion, Nikki feels duty-bound to get involved. Before his demise, Eddie Bernard was the über-privileged son of one of the biggest television producers of all time-and a spoiled, violent, party-boy loser. The list of people glad to see him gone could stretch from one end of Bel Air to the other. In fact, about the only person Nikki's sure is innocent is the prime suspect: Jorge Delgado, her childhood friend and the son of Victoria's housekeeper. With the DA and the media throwing the words "death penalty" around, Nikki has to help. Victoria, of course, can't wait to delve into another Tinseltown scandal, and soon Nikki is submerged in a secret world of celebrity drug dealing, dangerous cults, conniving stars, illegal aliens, and, of all things, the Food Network. With the aid of a voyeuristic neighbor and some good old-fashioned bribery, Nikki starts to close in on the truth. But can she keep Jorge from facing the final curtain-while keeping herself out of a killer's spotlight?

Cheryl Crane, daughter of movie icon Lana Turner, presents the third in her star-studded mystery series featuring celebrity realtor-turned-amateur sleuth Nikki Harper and her screen goddess mother. Realtor Nikki Harper is often privy to the kind of celebrity secrets the tabloids would kill to hear-but the latest murder case to rock Tinsel Town is truly shocking. Ryan Melton is well known as the arm-candy husband of former child star Diara Elliot. Beautiful and ambitious, Diara appears on the television series Casa Capri, which stars none other than Nikki's mother, Victoria Bordeaux. In fact, Nikki recently met Ryan and Diara at one of her mother's parties. Now Ryan's lifeless body has been found by his swimming pool, and the security tapes have mysteriously been erased. The prime suspect is the last person to see him alive: his dog walker, Alison Sahira. Nikki can't imagine the mousy mom killing a fly, but Alison is harboring a dirty little secret that could implicate a set of A-listers. Sorting through a tangled web of lies and innuendo, Nikki races to find the truth before she becomes the next target.