Gina Cototi Cases: Book 1
Publication Date: January 11, 2024
Gina Marie Cototi is a feisty Sicilian sparkplug, a Brooklyn-based PI with a fondness for family, friends, and one roguishly handsome Casanova named Rocco Benelli. Hey, nobody’s perfect.
This headstrong sleuth drives a split-window ’63 Corvette coupe and never, I mean never, misses Sunday dinner with Ma, Dad, and her sister Theresa.
Broke, brooding, and breathtaking, Benelli, an out-of-work parole officer is cursed with more charm than any man deserves. Deep down, Gina knows she shouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole, but she’s got more cases than she can handle, and Benelli’s ready, willing, and able-bodied, the perfect partner to help her get the goods on Vlad “The Scud” Rzhevsky, a disreputable boxer running point on dirty deeds for Luca Mura, a mobster as evil as he is dangerous.
Gina must somehow close the case without losing her life to Mura or her virtue to Benelli, but a moth working alongside a flame is always in danger of catching fire.
A title like Man-Killer evokes images of a jaw-dropping tangle of suspense featuring a deranged serial killer.
However, that’s not quite what author Lawrence Kelter had in mind. Instead, his version features a sassy Sicilian private investigator who knows Rocco Benelli is trouble.
That doesn’t stop Gina Marie Cototi from wanting a taste of what every other girl in town seems to have savored. Her witty comebacks are legendary, which elevates the dialog into the stratosphere. Add in jibes from her sex fiend of a sister, and the stage is set for some jaw-dropping humor.
When Gina and Rocco team up on an insurance fraud case, she doesn’t count on him helping out after she goes up against a ruthless mobster. The sexual heat is off the charts, but Gina’s not interested in being just a number.
Add in a classic car, a tight-knit family, and a black Spandex cocktail dress, and Man-Killer will take you on a heart-pounding ride…with a tiny cliffhanger ensuring you’ll stay buckled up for the next installment.
Lawrence Kelter hails from New York but now calls North Carolina his home. He is the bestselling author of more than thirty mystery and thriller novels including the Stephanie Chalice Mystery series that has topped bestseller lists in the US, UK, and Australia. In 2017, he penned Back to Brooklyn, the studio-authorized sequel to the cult comedy classic My Cousin Vinny.
Early in his writing career, he received direction from literary icon, Nelson DeMille, who edited portions of his early work. Well before he said, “Lawrence Kelter is an exciting new novelist, who reminds me of an early Robert Ludlum,” he said, “Kid, your work needs editing, but that’s a hell of a lot better than not having talent. Keep it up!”
