Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray: A Tara Holloway Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Diane Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 26, 2012 | Series: Tara Holloway Novel (Book 3)

When you’re an agent for the IRS, it’s always tax time. And this season, Tara Holloway is up to her neck in work with two very knotty cases. One involves a charismatic minister who’s using his mega-church as a tax shelter. The other is a crazy militant who’s trying to turn Texas into a separate country. With her boyfriend out of town and her partner reassigned, Tara is on her own—and things are getting hairy.

If dealing with the Lone Star State isn’t enough, Tara has other new issues to take into account: There’s a sexy new agent named Nick, who’s got her head in the clouds...and Tara’s boss, Lu, who’s having a hair problem of epic proportions: not even her Chinese contraband industrial-strength hairspray is enough to keep her signature strawberry blonde beehive from falling flat. Can Tara help Lu find a wig—and keep from wigging out over Nick? Love, updos, taxes—this time, Tara’s got a whole lot of kinks to iron out…

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lurking beneath the humor and action that characterize this series is a serious look at how a slick religious con man can fleece his flock. Noah Fischer has a nation bamboozled, and Tara's and Nick's determination to help his congregation see the light advances their characters in unexpected ways. As usual, the pace is quick without being frenetic, and the breezy narrative style is perfection - fun and sexy without being over the top." --RT Book Reviews on Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray

From the Back Cover

OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB SHE WEAVES.

Tara Holloway might be having a bad hair day. Or month. But she’s got eyes in the back of her head…and when it comes to taxes, no one’s going to leap through a loophole on her watch!

When you’re an agent for the IRS, it’s always tax time. And this season, Tara is up to her neck in work with two very knotty cases. One involves a charismatic minister who’s using his mega-church as a tax shelter. The other is a crazy militant who’s trying to turn Texas into a separate country. With her boyfriend out of town and her partner reassigned, Tara is on her own—and things are getting hairy.

“PREPARE TO LAUGH YOUR ASSETS OFF.”

—Jana DeLeon, author of the Ghost-in-Law mysteries

If dealing with the Lone Star State isn’t enough, Tara has other new issues to take into account: There’s a sexy new agent named Nick, who’s got her head in the clouds...and Tara’s boss, Lu, who’s having a hair problem of epic proportions: not even her Chinese contraband industrial-strength hairspray is enough to keep her signature strawberry blonde beehive from falling flat. Can Tara help Lu find a wig—and keep from wigging out over Nick? Love, updos, taxes—this time, Tara’s got a whole lot of kinks to iron out…

 “Hunting down tax cheats has never added up to so much fun!”
—Robin Kaye, award-winning author of The Domestic Gods series

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1 edition (June 26, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312551282
• ISBN-13: 978-0312551285
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A former tax accountant and attorney, Diane spent several years at an international accounting firm where she had the pleasure of working with a partner later indicted for tax shelter fraud. She also served a stint as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas under an AG who pled guilty to criminal charges related to the tobacco company lawsuits. Given this work history, Diane decided self-employment might be a good idea. She also realized her experiences with white-collar crime made excellent fodder for a novel. Her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her "Death and Taxes" mystery series.

Diane won the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award in 2009 and has earned over two dozen RWA chapter awards. Her novel Death, Taxes, and a Skinny No-Whip Latte won a 2012 Reviewers Choice Award.

Diane loves to hear from readers! Visit Diane at www.dianekelly.com. While you're there, sign up for her quarterly newsletter. Find Diane on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dianekellybooks.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The IRS can be funny August 20, 2012

By Kaye Killgore

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Tara Holloway is a special gun-toting IRS agent. She (and her co-workers) get the really hard cases. In this book Lu Lobozinsky, her boss is out of the office fighting lung cancer, and Eddie, Tara's regular partner is in charge of the office, which leaves Tara without a partner. She has been given two particularly challenging cases, one a minister who's using his mega-church as a tax shelter, and the other is a radical militant separatist who's trying to turn Texas into a separate country. Nick Pratt is the only agent free to be her partner, the only problem with him is he's the sexiest agent in the office (probably in the entire state). Tara's involved with Brett, who just happens to get a job out of town for a month. Tara has also promised Lu an wig to replace her own rapidly falling beehive. What's a nice IRS agent to do? I love this series, it is laugh-out-loud funny, with characters that jump off the page. I'm eagerly waiting for the next book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific! August 22, 2012

By Winston

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Tara Hollaway is one of my new favorite characters. Ms. Kelly did a lovely job on this book: funny, entertaining and I didn't figure it out half-way through - Very pleased! I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable August 8, 2012

By Linda

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Tara Holloway, IRS Criminal Investigations agent, has her hands full with two difficult cases. She is after the leader of the Lone Star Nation for back taxes and is after a very shady minister who believes it is better to receive than to give. Going after these people causes lots of personal problems for Tara, and she is forced to `watch her back'. The separatists of the Lone Star Nation are beyond strange, and the minister of the Ark Temple of Worship feels entitled to all he has. Neither the leader nor the minister plans to give Uncle Sam any money. What follows is a story that is interesting, dangerous, humorous, but most of all, fun. Diane Kelly has filled her book with a wonderful cast of primary and secondary characters. Tara is a great lead character. She is intelligent, skilled, and determined to succeed. I love Tara's interactions with Nick, Eddie, Lu, Brett and Ajay. I was really happy to see that Josh has a bigger role in this story. He is turning out to be an adorable little geek, and I hope that at some point Ms. Kelly will find him someone special. I absolutely recommend this series. Can't wait for the next book (Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria-- I love that title). Happy reading!