Stiletto to the Pedal

May 21, 2024

Stiletto to the Pedal

Stiletto to the Pedal (The Tow Truck Murder Mysteries)
by Karen C. Whalen

About Stiletto to the Pedal

Stiletto to the Pedal (The Tow Truck Murder Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Colorado
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (May 15, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1509254536
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1509254538
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CX5VMF77

When the IRS claims Delaney Morran, the high-heeled tow truck driver and amateur sleuth, owes back taxes, she hires an accountant to fight Uncle Sam. Before Delaney can resolve the issue, a tax collector shows up in Spruce Ridge, Colorado demanding an amount Delaney can’t afford. It gets worse when Delaney’s accountant becomes the town’s next murder victim and Delaney’s tax records are locked inside the crime scene. The quickest way to get the Internal Revenue off her case is to catch the killer and get her files back, so she speeds around town questioning suspects while keeping one step ahead of the tax man.

Will Delaney be able to solve yet another murder and secure her records before the IRS shuts her down?

About Karen C. Whalen

Karen C. Whalen is the author of two mystery series for The Wild Rose Press, the Dinner Club Mysteries featuring Jane Marsh, an empty nester who hosts a gourmet dinner club, and the Tow Truck Mysteries starring Delaney Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck. Both are cozy mysteries about strong friendships and family ties set in Colorado.

The first book in the Dinner Club series tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel category of the 2017 IDA Contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of America. In the Tow Truck series, Eyes on the Road was a Second Place winner of the 2023 Firebird Book Awards in the Cozy Mystery category. Whalen worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and was a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine.

Whalen loves to host dinner parties, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the mountains, walk on the beach, and read cozy murder mysteries.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

A few years ago, my husband received a nice lay-off package that included several months of salary that continued after he began his next job. That’s called “double dipping” and we enjoyed the extra paychecks. However, he filled out his tax forms incorrectly, and at tax time discovered he had not paid any federal withholding. None, zero. Because of the double salary, he made more money that year than ever before. We almost had heart attacks when our tax preparer told us. We paid the bill out of savings and vowed to be more careful in the future. One thing you never, ever want to do is mess with the Internal Revenue!

As usual, everything in a writer’s life is considered fair game for the next book. I wondered what my main character in the Tow Truck Murder Mysteries would do if the IRS claimed she owed more taxes than she could afford to pay. That’s where the idea for Stiletto to the Pedal came from…

Just starting out in her own business as the high-heeled tow truck driver, Delaney Morran is barely making ends meet, and when a tax collector shows up at her door insisting she owes on her taxes, she hires an accountant to help. But the accountant becomes the town’s next murder victim. Since Delaney’s tax records are locked inside the crime scene, the quickest way to get the tax man off her case is to catch the killer and get her files back…so she speeds around town—her stiletto to the pedal—questioning suspects and keeping one step ahead of the tax man!

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I enjoyed creating the character Benedict DiNardo, the tax collector and nerdy accountant with a beautiful wife. Delaney calls him DiNerdo. I had some laugh out loud moments with him and hope my readers will, too.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

The next book in the Tow Truck series is Booty in the Backseat which will come out by the end of this year. In Booty, Delaney is shocked to discover bags of money in the backseat of a Volvo she was hired to tow. She’s even more shocked to find a severed hand in one of the bags. This time the mystery is about a kidnapping.

I also have my first indie-published book coming out June 20, a cozy mystery beach read. The indie-publishing experience was a challenge for me. Kudos to all the indie authors out there who release polished and professional novels without the aid of a publisher! The fun part was picking my own cover and working with other indie-professionals. I’m quite proud of the result and hope readers will check out Murder at Sea Oats Beach, which will be available free on Kindle Unlimited.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

I’m continuing with the Tow Truck Murder Mysteries and have ideas for future books set in Sea Oats Beach.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I hope you have fun visiting Spruce Ridge, Colorado, a mountain town between Denver and Vail where Delaney lives, and now Sea Oats Beach in Costal Carolina, the setting for my new series. I’m inviting you to spend time there with my characters. The mountains and the ocean—two of the best places to be.