What do you think?
Rate this book
Californication: A Gold Mine of Crime
REDWOOD FORESTS, HOLLYWOOD, AND MURDER…IT’S CALIFORNICATION
Cuddle up with your Kindle and treat yourself to a balmy California vacation—no plane ticket needed!
From its majestic redwoods in the north, to its hip beaches in the south, California’s azure coastline stretches 800 miles—a hotbed of dreams-come-true, and an equal number of head-scratching murder mysteries. In this cozy box set, murder’s afoot amidst Oakland’s zany collection of book collectors, the Bay Area’s underground feminist prostitution ring, the wealthy residents of woodsy Marin County, the glamorous and blood-sucking darlings of Hollywood, and the more mystical—psychic, really—world of teenage magic in Santa Barbara. A delectable mélange of murder in the Golden State.
HUCKLEBERRY FIEND, a Paul Mcdonald mystery by J. Paul Drew.
The most priceless American manuscript in existence—the missing holograph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—has unceremoniously dropped into ex-journalist and sometime-sleuth Paul Mcdonald's hands, and its former owner has been murdered—now what?Paul is so awed he can hardly bring himself to touch it, unlike the zany collection of literary collectors who’re trying to lay hands on it. And they are all stripes of crazy, every single one of them capable of murder.
DEATH TURNS A TRICK, the FIRST book in the Rebecca Schwartz mystery series by Edgar Award Winner Julie Smith.
Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor?
FREE DRAW, the SECOND book in the hard-boiled but “wonderfully wry” adventures of ex-cop Jake Samson by award-winning author Shelley Singer.
Unafraid, unlicensed, and, in this case, unpaid, unofficial Bay Area P.I. Jake Samson and his carpenter sidekick Rosie set out to clear a friend of a murder charge. The victim is found stabbed to death in a damp redwood canyon in woodsy, wealthy Marin County, outside San Francisco. It's up to Jake and Rosie to find the real killer, and they've got a number of odd California wood-dwelling suspects.
LOVE BITES, “an engaging, sinister romp,” by Adrienne Barbeau, author of the Vampyres of Hollywood series.
Beverly Hills detective Peter King and movie star Ovsanna Moore are the sexiest tongue-in-cheek crime-solving duo in almost half a millennium—as Ovsanna, a 450-year-old vampire, can bear witness. Ovsanna’s the successful owner of her own Hollywood film studio and the star of 17 blockbuster horror films. And Peter’s a hell of a detective. Together, they take on vampyres, werewolves, and shapeshifters while solving the crimes they commit.
Debut author Red Q. Arthur's BAD GIRL SCHOOL, a YA paranormal adventure featuring superpowers, time travel, and young love. The murderous cat steals the show.
Ever wonder why the world didn't end in 2012? You can thank Reeno Dimond, teen burglar.
Cuddle up with your Kindle and treat yourself to a balmy California vacation—no plane ticket needed!
From its majestic redwoods in the north, to its hip beaches in the south, California’s azure coastline stretches 800 miles—a hotbed of dreams-come-true, and an equal number of head-scratching murder mysteries. In this cozy box set, murder’s afoot amidst Oakland’s zany collection of book collectors, the Bay Area’s underground feminist prostitution ring, the wealthy residents of woodsy Marin County, the glamorous and blood-sucking darlings of Hollywood, and the more mystical—psychic, really—world of teenage magic in Santa Barbara. A delectable mélange of murder in the Golden State.
HUCKLEBERRY FIEND, a Paul Mcdonald mystery by J. Paul Drew.
The most priceless American manuscript in existence—the missing holograph of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—has unceremoniously dropped into ex-journalist and sometime-sleuth Paul Mcdonald's hands, and its former owner has been murdered—now what?Paul is so awed he can hardly bring himself to touch it, unlike the zany collection of literary collectors who’re trying to lay hands on it. And they are all stripes of crazy, every single one of them capable of murder.
DEATH TURNS A TRICK, the FIRST book in the Rebecca Schwartz mystery series by Edgar Award Winner Julie Smith.
Rebecca Schwartz, nice Jewish lawyer with a few too many fantasies, is happily playing the piano in a whorehouse when she suddenly finds herself assigned to make sure a near-naked state senator escapes a police raid. That dirty job done, a lovely evening turns even more delightful when she’s picked up by the cops and spends the next two hours at the Hall of Justice. Could this day get any worse? Of course! Guess who arrives home to find a dead hooker on her living room floor?
FREE DRAW, the SECOND book in the hard-boiled but “wonderfully wry” adventures of ex-cop Jake Samson by award-winning author Shelley Singer.
Unafraid, unlicensed, and, in this case, unpaid, unofficial Bay Area P.I. Jake Samson and his carpenter sidekick Rosie set out to clear a friend of a murder charge. The victim is found stabbed to death in a damp redwood canyon in woodsy, wealthy Marin County, outside San Francisco. It's up to Jake and Rosie to find the real killer, and they've got a number of odd California wood-dwelling suspects.
LOVE BITES, “an engaging, sinister romp,” by Adrienne Barbeau, author of the Vampyres of Hollywood series.
Beverly Hills detective Peter King and movie star Ovsanna Moore are the sexiest tongue-in-cheek crime-solving duo in almost half a millennium—as Ovsanna, a 450-year-old vampire, can bear witness. Ovsanna’s the successful owner of her own Hollywood film studio and the star of 17 blockbuster horror films. And Peter’s a hell of a detective. Together, they take on vampyres, werewolves, and shapeshifters while solving the crimes they commit.
Debut author Red Q. Arthur's BAD GIRL SCHOOL, a YA paranormal adventure featuring superpowers, time travel, and young love. The murderous cat steals the show.
Ever wonder why the world didn't end in 2012? You can thank Reeno Dimond, teen burglar.
1331 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2017
587 people are currently reading
289 people want to read
About the author
Julie Smith
262 books404 followersAuthor of 20 mystery novels and a YA paranormal adventure called BAD GIRL SCHOOL (formerly CURSEBUSTERS!). Nine of the mysteries are about a female New Orleans cop Skip Langdon, five about a San Francisco lawyer named Rebecca Schwartz,two about a struggling mystery writer named Paul Mcdonald (whose fate no one should suffer) and four teaming up Talba Wallis, a private eye with many names, a poetic license, and a smoking computer, with veteran P.I. Eddie Valentino.
In Bad GIRL SCHOOL, a psychic pink-haired teen-age burglar named Reeno gets recruited by a psychotic telepathic cat to pull a job that involves time travel to an ancient Mayan city. Hint:It HAS to be done before 2012!
Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel, that being NEW ORLEANS MOURNING.
Former reporter for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE and the San Francisco CHRONICLE.
Recently licensed private investigator, and thereon hangs a tale.
Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana
In Bad GIRL SCHOOL, a psychic pink-haired teen-age burglar named Reeno gets recruited by a psychotic telepathic cat to pull a job that involves time travel to an ancient Mayan city. Hint:It HAS to be done before 2012!
Winner of the 1991 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel, that being NEW ORLEANS MOURNING.
Former reporter for the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE and the San Francisco CHRONICLE.
Recently licensed private investigator, and thereon hangs a tale.
Resident of New Orleans, Louisiana
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 8, 2021
5 totally separate stories and authors. 1 and 2 were decent mysteries, dragged a little at times. The last 3 stories were fantasy things which happily made up whatever things the wanted at any time. No, I can't waste time on teenage make believe again. Try it one time, though.
March 31, 2019
Not my cup of tea
I would consider this to be a YA read. Not my cup of tea at all. Shame. But there are many more books to explore, right?...
I would consider this to be a YA read. Not my cup of tea at all. Shame. But there are many more books to explore, right?...
August 8, 2019
Interesting reads
All the books in this series were good reads. I enjoyed each in a different way. I recommend them for nice light reading.
All the books in this series were good reads. I enjoyed each in a different way. I recommend them for nice light reading.
September 3, 2019
DNF. I'm sorry, but the writing was horrible. I skimmed through the first story, then started the second and realized it was worse than the first.
May 16, 2020
Obviously, some of these novels were better than others, but I did enjoy reading all of them, especially during our pandemic quarantine time.
September 27, 2020
Great
Wonderful story that keeps you guessing and the fantasies are fantastic! Reeno is amazing and so is the cat! Fantastic!
Wonderful story that keeps you guessing and the fantasies are fantastic! Reeno is amazing and so is the cat! Fantastic!
July 16, 2022
AB cat
Weird, funny,magical. A cat with magic powers. Some time traveling. A curse to undo. A story with many transitions. A good read
Weird, funny,magical. A cat with magic powers. Some time traveling. A curse to undo. A story with many transitions. A good read
Read
October 30, 2018I have enjoyed all of Julie Smiths books. These predate the New Orleans books, which are the better ones I believe. But these are still good and enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews