Buy and read Shari Shattuck's books "Loaded" and "Lethal".

Editorial Review of "Loaded" From Publishers Weekly
Exploding like a string of firecrackers let loose beneath one's feet, Shattuck's debut novel keeps the reader deliciously on edge. Raw action collides with secrets and family conflicts as one of the most vivid heroines to hit the shelves recently tries to discover who wants her dead. Hard-shelled Callaway Wilde has everything a young woman in L.A. could need: beauty, brains and lots and lots of money. But her wealth has left her saddled with bitter relatives (including acid-tongued "Attila the Mum") and an inability to trust anyone. An attempt to kill her seems at first to be simply a matter of Cally being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But too soon Cally realizes she's in serious trouble and has few allies, with the possible exception of attractive L.A. police detective Evan Paley, who remains unfazed by Cally's wealth and sees the vulnerabilities she hides behind it. But it's not until a half sister surfaces that Cally's world is shaken to the core-and the reason behind the attacks becomes clear. Glib, cynical and assured in many ways but deeply unsure in others, Cally's voice spins a siren's call that, combined with Shattuck's electric pacing, will keep readers glued to this novel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Editorial review of "Lethal" From Publishers Weekly
What's a wealthy, gorgeous woman to do when she has a hunky, workaholic detective boyfriend, an overactive sense of good Samaritanism and too much time on her hands? Get in trouble, of course, and Cally Wilde does just that at the start of this improbable read. Set in Los Angeles-and populated by the kind of effortlessly rich, charismatic people who make Jeff Bezos look like an underachiever-the book opens with Cally saving a pretty Japanese woman named Aya from an abusive man. Cally gets grazed by a bullet in the process, but that doesn't stop her from befriending Aya or from coming to her rescue when her attacker returns. Before long, Cally and her colorful clique-including her well-off boyfriend, Evan; her mouthy girlfriend, Ginny; and her witless half-sister, Sabrina-are embroiled in a tangled web involving Columbian drug dealers, a possibly shady Japanese businessman and two enigmatic geishas. Reading this book is much like riding in the passenger seat of a sports car with a lead-footed driver at the helm. The momentum of the story keeps you nailed to your seat, but the ride is sometimes so chaotic that you long for solid ground. It's often not clear why Cally and her friends do what they do (e.g., shortly after deciding that they need to fake the death of one of the geishas they're protecting, Cally and Ginny go golfing), and the protagonists' innuendo-laced banter occasionally misfires. Nevertheless, this follow-up to Shattuck's Loaded is light, whirlwind entertainment for those who like the feel of the wind in their hair.
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