Bye, Bye Love by K.J. Larsen is the fourth book in the “Cat DeLuca” mystery series. Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, April 2015

Chicago’s Pants On Fire Detective Agency targets liars and cheats. But PI Cat DeLuca is once again up to her smokin’ skinny jeans in murder.

Cat is out running in a neighborhood park when she crashes over the faceless body of Bernie Love. Bernie was the finance guy to the scary Provenza family, with whom he grew up. And friend to Cat’s shady, Ferrari-wheeling-cop Uncle Joey. As she hauls out her phone, Cat is assaulted by someone with a Rolex, stun gun, and wheelbarrow. When the cops show up, the killer is gone. And so is the body.

Captain Bob, a stickler for habeas corpus, blows off Cat’s story. Stung by a chorus of snickers from the Ninth Precinct, home base for DeLuca men, Cat vows to make her case and goes after Rolex man. The murderer, desperate to silence the only person who can place him at the park, comes after Cat. She’s quickly on a collision course with the deadliest adversary she’s ever encountered—but she has the help of her beagle partner, her gun-happy assistant, an ex-spy (or two), and her outrageous, interfering Italian family. Meanwhile her hot, FBI-boyfriend seems sidelined in Vegas.

In Bye, Bye, Love, K.J. Larsen delivers another nail-biting tale rife with unexpected plot twists, zany characters, fabulous food, and laugh-out-loud humor.

In this latest adventure, Cat DeLuca is on the trail of a body snatcher and what ensues is a rip-roaring laugh out loud riot of hilarity. I enjoyed the pacing of this story as the suspects and clues were presented in a manner that kept me involved in all aspects of this finely-tuned mystery. This book was so engaging with the humorous banter between Cat and those that crossed her path and the action-filled drama that kept me glued to the pages until the last cannoli was eaten. The gang is back from her brothers to Cleo who cracks me up to Uncle Joey to Tino to Max and you can’t forget her parents. The author is very good at making feel at home with the DeLuca family and I simply love this lovable dysfunctional and eccentrically tight-knit family. The wait for this book was so worth it and I look forward to more exciting and amusing times in the next book in this fabulous series.