Frankie Carroll

What do the Unabomber, Little Red Riding Hood, and country club divas have in common? They are all out to get the church secretary.

Not only are the divas and the media bent on on ruining Jackie McGrath's reputation by spreading gossip, but the old fogy members of the First United Methodist Church of Deweyville are on a mission to the get her fired. Contending with the daily theatrics of a kooky congregation, a wedding where cars end up in the sanctuary, a funeral with exotic dancers in attendance, and a baby baptism where the Angel of God descends from the ceiling, Jackie obsesses about the other stiletto dropping. Paranoia becomes reality when someone attacks her--twice. Our heroine, a mature, thrice divorced woman with a teenage son and four jobs, has a BFF with a yen for Burberry and sleuthing, a boyfriend with a disappearing act, and a nose for trouble. No wonder the hunky chief of police assigns her a bodyguard 24/7.

When Jackie learns a friend has died as the result of drowning, she doesn't buy the report of suicide. As well as the assaults on her own life, she sets out to solve the mystery with the help of her sidekick Gerie, the flamboyant church organist. Posing as fake French detectives, Jackie and Gerie commit breaking and entering crimes, go undercover to obtain information from a dentist, lead the police on a high speed chase in a yellow Cadillac, and wind up in a drug sting at the Gone Native Casino. As if her life isn't crazy enough, Jackie decides to star in a play and ends up being shrink wrapped.

In this second hen lit novel of The Deweyville Church Secretary series, Jackie deals with the usual colorful suspects. Is Gospel Bob of Religion Within Reach on the up-and-up or is he a drug dealer? Where does love interest Rusty Jackson, the Boilerman, go when he disappears? Why does John the Baptist morph into the pope? And she encounters a host of zany new personalities: the Flavors of the Deweyville Delight, Dr. Death, the Bug Lady, and Dearie Dombrowski. With cozy mysteries thrown into the slightly irreverent and a tad naughty hilarious romp, Loose LIPS is diva drama and slapstick adventure.