Lola Cruz Mysteries Trilogy By Melissa Bourbon: Review/Giveaway

by Cynthia Chow

Details on how to win a copy of this trilogy at the end of the review and links to purchase them.

Ever since she was a young teenager, Delores Cruz dreamed of being a private investigator. That may have been sparked by her spying on her crush Jack Callaghan, Lola’s older brother’s best friend and whom she just photographed in the backseat of a car with a girl who was not his girlfriend.

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When readers first meet Lola in Living the Vida Lola, she has fulfilled her dream by being a novice investigator at Camacho and Associates, a five-person firm led by the smoking hot and mysterious Manny Camacho. Lola is eager to prove herself by taking the missing persons case of Emily Briggs, a young mother whom everyone believes abandoned her family. Lola has her suspicions that something far more dire occurred, and she’s not alone. Ahead of her in questioning neighbors is Sacramento Bee reporter Jack Callaghan, the very same Jack Callaghan who flamed her teenaged hormones and is causing her face to flush up today. In between waitressing at her family’s restaurant and helping to plan her cousin’s quinceanera, Lola will have to prove herself as a detective and sort out her feelings towards her boss and her reporter rival.

In Hasta La Vista, Lola, her family’s worries about her safety and choice of profession seem to have come true. The corpse being mourned over definitely is not Lola though, despite the deceased having Lola’s ID cards and apparently assumed her identity. One of those mourners is someone Lola wishes was dead himself, as the last time she saw her ex-boyfriend Sergio he was rifling through the restaurant’s lockers. Mysterious women suddenly on scene and in both Manny and Jack’s lives make it apparent that any future romance will be rocky, but at least Lola can be distracted by unraveling a case involving identity theft and murder.

Fasten your seat belts for the third in this trilogy, as Bare-Naked Lola finds Lola undercover with very little to cover herself up. First hired to be a Courtside Dancer for the Sacramento Royals basketball team, Lola must investigate who is sending threatening letters to the dancers while not missing a dance step herself. It seems when not appearing on their own reality television show, the dancers dated an assortment of basketball players as the women vie to be the next wife on a rotating roster. The teeny bikini dance costume seems like an overcoat when Lola discovers that some of the victimized dancers are practicing nudists, meaning that she and her overly enthusiastic cousin-in-law Lucy will bare it all to interrogate witnesses without breaking eye contact.

Image Source all images Henery Press

This is an exuberant and often hilarious mystery series led by a heroine who refuses to give up despite family pressure, embarrassment, or experience. What she does have is enthusiasm, self-defense skills, and the savvy determination to track down her targets. Manny and Jack continue to be as mysterious as they are alluring, and whomever she finds herself with in the end, readers will be more than satisfied. This fun and exciting mystery series celebrates Lola’s family, their love of cooking, and the romantic intrigue that makes life so exciting.

Check out other Henery Press mysteries on their website.

To enter to win a copy of all three books, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "lola,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen April 27, 2019. U.S. residents only. If entering via comment please include your email address. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win, we will not use your address for any other reason. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast featuring mystery short stories and first chapters read by actors! A new episode goes up next week!

You can use these links to purchase the books. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.