LEAVE ME GASPING is the first title in a series featuring saucy female sleuth Del Jakes, a high-stakes mystery that pairs feminine sensibilities with sleek, fast-paced storytelling.

In the opening scene, Del Jakes boldly declares herself ready to live again. After mourning a husband who died unexpectedly and decades too early, she reclaims her natural curiosity and sense of adventure. She longs to experience joy and excitement again—but gets much more than she bargains for! 

Del is immediately plunged into a mystery that takes her back to her childhood home on Florida’s Gulf Coast. A lifelong girlfriend is missing, and the young woman who rents her garage apartment is counting on Del’s famous resourcefulness and tendency not to “take shit from anyone” to solve the case. But going home isn’t only about a place that makes Del nostalgic for the music and idealism of her youth, but also about moving toward a new version of herself, one that can embrace both a new lover and a father she has never known.

In spite of the threatening behavior of the surly police detective assigned the case, and his brother’s perplexing presence in the quiet coastal neighborhood, Del persists. Relying on her fisherman brother for support and an old classmate and newspaper publisher for investigative help, the sleuth races against time to find her friend. In the space of a few days, a whirlwind of clues and revelations takes Del and her cohorts from a grungy marina grill to a luxurious waterfront enclave; Sound side towns to Gulf side mangrove thickets; suspicion to trust; despair to hope—and grief to love.