Galya Popoff and the Dead Souls

Named to Kirkus Reviews Best of 2012. Kirkus calls Galya Popoff and the Dead Souls: "A wacky but wonderful new cozy . . . a madcap mystery romp . . . a rollicking adventure the reader will not want to end." It's five a.m. in the little California coastal town of Santa Maria del Lobo, and Professor Galya Popoff is waiting for her poodle to finish his rest-stop by the college Campanile. In the darkness, two hundred feet over their heads, Chancellor Siegfried ("Nazi") Nottbeck is honing his free climbing skills. Suddenly, his body plunges out of the night sky and hits the bricks a mere two feet from Galya. The police write it off as a bizarre accident. But Galya insists it was murder and decides to take charge of the investigation herself. She drafts her reluctant son, Lance Steele (a.k.a. Pavel Popoff) a down-on-his-luck Soap star. He's fled Hollywood and bill collectors to temporarily hide out at his mother's place and work on his tan. The last thing he wants is to play Watson to her Sherlock, but how do you say no to a feisty, bossy Russian mother who once locked horns with the Soviet KGB - and won. This unlikely trio (two Popoffs and a poodle) swings into dizzying detective action, as Galya tracks a shrewd and savvy murderer who will kill anyone to keep the secret of the Dead Souls safe. Santa Maria del Lobo hasn't seen this much excitement since The Great White Shark ate the prize-winning surfer from Australia.

Julia George is the pen name of a husband and wife writing team. Julia and George haven’t always been writers. Most of their adventures have been in the world of the theater. They’ve both acted and directed. George also produced plays and made documentary films. Julia has designed costumes and sets and performed in commercials. Along the way she ran her own interior design business. George did a stint as a talent agent in Manhattan, represented a Russian artist, and crossed swords with the Soviet KGB while on assignment for the U.S.I.A. in the Evil Empire. Together they also raised a terrific son. Now they’re writing novels.