A Dead Red Heart — R.P. Dahlke

What would you do if the love of your life lost their chance at a heart transplant because the donor organ went to a convicted felon? Grieve and let go--or wait until the convict is released and then hunt him down and make him pay?
Lalla Bains certainly doesn't need any more distractions during the simmering summers in the San Joaquin Valley of California; her tight-wad, widowed father is now a born-again lady's man, a disreputable crop-dusting competitor threatens her business, and last but not least, she worries whether the sultry redhead in the local police department is taking more than a professional interest in her honey, Sheriff Caleb Stone.
But when a homeless vet is stabbed and dies at her feet, Lalla Bains, being the exasperating, pushy, tenacious gal she is, Lalla believes the dead man deserves a better homicide investigation than what he's getting.