Dolores ''Lola'' Cruz first fell in love with her brother's best friend Jack Callaghan when she was a kid. She used to spy on him and take pictures like the detective she would grow up to be one day. Now Lola is 28 years old and working for Camacho & Associates as a private investigator.
Emily Diggs is a mother of three children who has suddenly gone missing. While looking through Emily's journal, Lola is shocked to find her childhood crush's business card in it. Jack is all grown up and a reporter for the Sacramento Bee. Lola contacts him to find out about his connection to the missing woman.
Immediately sparks fly between Lola and Jack, and it seems all of her wishes are going to come true. Finally, Lola will have a chance with the man of her dreams.
Unfortunately, before anything can happen between the two, Emily Diggs turns up dead and the killers are now after Lola! As she connects the dots between a large pool of suspects, all the pieces start to fit together. But the killer doesn't want Lola to solve this case and they will do everything in their power to stop her.
Will Lola finally get to experience the thrilling excitement of being with Jack Callahan or will her dangerous case hit a little too close to home?
LIVING THE VIDA LOLA is the first book in the Lola Cruz mystery series following the life of a Mexican woman who is learning the ropes as a newly licensed detective. Lola's voice is vibrant, loud, hilarious and shined through in this deliciously fun mystery. Lola and Jack's chemistry was on fire and I loved all the awkward situations she went through as she got to know him again.
The story moves along at a fast pace with a tightly plotted mystery that had me shocked at the final conclusion. Being in Lola's head in this first person POV is pure craziness at times and it's fun! Every woman has snooped through a man's apartment when left alone, but did you find his condoms and count them to see if any were missing? Did you try out his bed to see if it's good for sex? Lola is absolutely hilarious and I loved her from the very first sentence.
If you enjoyed Janet Evanovich's series but always felt like something was missing, then look no further than the Lola Cruz mysteries! She's smarter, sassier, sexier, bolder, funnier, and always gets her man in the end. Lola Cruz could definitely give Stephanie Plum a few lessons!
Misa Ramirez is a fresh voice and I thoroughly LOVED reading LIVING THE VIDA LOLA. I am completely addicted to this series and can't wait to dig into the second book, Hasta La Vista Lola!
Meet Lola Cruz. After paying her dues as an intern, sheโs
now a full-fledged detective at Camacho and Associates. Her
boss is Manny Camacho, a muy caliente former cop with a
mysterious ex-wife, a Lara Croft look-alike girlfriend, and
a sudden personal interest in Lola. Her first big case? A
missing mother who may not want to be found. And to make
her already busy life even more complicated, Lolaโs helping
her cousin plan her quinceaรฑera, and battling her family
and their old-fashioned views on women and careers. Sheโs
also reunited with the gorgeous Jack Callaghan, her high
school crush whom she shamelessly tailed years ago and
photographed doing the horizontal salsa with some other
lucky girl.
Lola takes it all in stride, but when the subject of her
search ends up dead, she realizes she has a lot more to
worry about. Soon she finds herself wrapped up in the
possibly shady practices of a tattoo parlor, local
politics, and someone with serious---maybe deadly---road
rage. To top it all off, her treasured postcoital pictures
of Jack are missing! Still, Lola is well-equipped to handle
these challenges. She's a black-belt in kung fu, and her
body isnโt her only weapon. Sheโs got smarts, sass, and
more tenacity than her Mexican mafioso-wannabe grandfather.
A few of her famous margaritas donโt hurt, either.
Debut author Misa Ramirez, a blond-haired, green-eyed gal
with a passion for the Latino culture and authentic Mexican
food, has penned a delicious mix of mystery, romance, and
all-out fun. Filled with sizzling scenes and side-splitting
humor, Living the Vida Lola is a thrilling ride that will
have you up all night.
EXCERPT
Chapter 1
When I was fourteen years old, I snapped pictures of Jack
Callaghan doing the horizontal salsa in the back seat of a
car with Greta Pritchard. Thatโs when I knew for sure Iโd
grow up to be a private eye.
Iโd hidden under the bleachers at the high school, followed
him to the levy, even disguised my voice and called his
mother to find out his plans so Iโd know where to set up my
surveillance. It had taken a month of steadfast
determination, and at least four rolls of film, before I
got proof that Jack was messing aroundโno, having sexโwith
Greta while he was supposedly dating Laura something-or-
other.
My mother called him un mujeriegoโa player. I didnโt care.
I just wanted him to do to me what heโd done to Greta.
Back in high school, Jack and my brother, Antonio, made
their way through the cheerleaders, then the Future Female
Leaders of America. But Jack didnโt give me, little Lola
Cruz, the time of day.
โIโll never get to do that with him!โ Iโd wailed to my
sister Gracie when I showed her the pictures I had of him
and Greta.
Sheโd looked longingly at the photos. โYeah,โ she sighed
heavily. โBut at least you can look at him whenever you
want.โ Then she got serious. โAnd, more importantly, you
discovered what youโre good at. Now you wonโt be stuck
working at Abuelitaโs for the rest of your life.โ
If I hadnโt been determined to figure out why the hottest
guy at school, and my brotherโs best friend, completely
ignored me, I might never have discovered my proclivity for
surveillance and undercover work.
Gracie was right. Iโd never confess that Iโd taken photos
of Jack, but once I had them in my hot little hands, there
was no way I was parting with them. He was my fantasy.
My favorite picture of Jack still had a place in my dresser
drawer, fifteen years later. He stood bare-chested, his
business with Greta was done. He was just seventeen years
old and his smoky blue eyes seemed trained directly on me,
as if he was staring through the shrubs to where I was
hidden.
I was pretty sure Jack Callaghan didnโt know Iโd been a
teenage stalker. Even though I still had a secret longing
that heโd do to me what heโd done to Greta Pritchard, my
embarrassment at invading his privacy, and my anger that
Iโd never be anything more to him than Antonioโs little
sister, kept me far, far away from him. I avoided him at
all costs so that I wouldnโt break down and confess in a
moment of guilty Catholic repentance.
Iโd been in and out of relationships, but those old photos
of Jack reminded me of what Iโd lost, even though Iโd never
had it. Or him.
Still, while Jackโand his untamed libidoโhad never given me
an orgasm (well, at least not person-to-person), he had
done something earth-moving for me. I was Dolores Cruz,
a.k.a. Lola P.I. Thanks to him, Iโd answered my calling.
© 2003-2026