Having been demoted to writing obits for the Austin Sentinel after having an affair with her last boss, Cauley MacKinnon (nicknamed the Obituary Babe) is working hard to prove she's a legitimate reporter and advance her career using her journalist skills. When Cauley's childhood friend Scott (Scooter) Barnes, exotic pet store owner and ex- Dallas Cowboy, calls her wanting to talk, she arrives at his folk's ranch to find him holed up in the shed, threatening suicide (again!) and the cops already on the scene. Scooter's known as a "serial suicide" since this scenario has been played out several times before.

Cauley manipulates a diversion, sneaks into the shed with Scooter, then has the conversation that will eventually lead to the scoop of her career. She just doesn't realize it at the time. Even though Cauley is able to talk Scooter out of suicide in the shed, he's later found dead in his office -- an apparent suicide. Cauley doesn't buy it for a minute, especially when there are so many people -- a sexy customs agent, a really hot FBI agent, a weird one-eared maniacal hit man and the Argentinean mafia -- anxious to know what he told her during their final conversation.

When her life is threatened and her house ransacked, Cauley finds herself more determined than ever to uncover the truth. But who can she trust, besides the mysterious stray dog she's taken in that won't leave her side? Knee-deep in murder and mayhem, Cauley is relentless in her search for a killer, and the story behind it all.

This debut mystery for Kit Frazier is a winner from beginning to end. Cauley is witty, self-deprecating and funny, yet also serious, hard-nosed and intelligent -- my kind of gal. I can't wait for the next Cauley MacKinnon mystery, DEAD COPY, coming in May 2007.