"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. " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Electric pacing....Keeps the reader deliciously on edge."

-- Publishers Weekly

While on a shopping trip to L.A.'s Little Japan, Cally Wilde stumbles on a crime that hurtles her into the world of drugs, murder, and the sensual art of the geisha.

One of the most vivid heroines to hit the shelves recently (Publisher's Weekly) is back in this follow-up novel to Loaded (8/03). This time Cally Wilde, on a shopping trip to LA's Little Japan, stumbles on a crime that hurtles her into the world of drugs, murder, and the sensual art of the geisha.

Shari Shattuck debuted her socialite-sleuth Callaway Wilde in her critically acclaimed suspense novel Loaded, published by Pocket Books. Her second Cally Wilde novel, Lethal, was featured in the Naughty Girls of Downtown Press launch and also received rave reviews. Shattuck is a successful actress with many film, television, and stage credits, including starring in the feature film On Dangerous Ground and a three-year run on The Young and the Restless. She lives in Los Angeles.