Red House — K.J.A. Wishnia / Ken Wishnia

Sharp-tongued Ecuadorian Filomena Buscarsela is back for her fourth appearance, keeping the peace on the mean streets of New York City. Former cab driver Fil is now working as an underpaid underling at a PI firm while studying to receive her own PI license. Setting out to show her bosses that she can pull in high-paying cases, too, she succeeds in spades with a mysterious murder linked to all kinds of wrongdoing. Why would a man on probation pull a gun on police officers while smoking a joint in broad daylight? Why would someone kill her neighbor, a good-hearted community activist? What is the story behind the walls of a dilapidated city building full of illegal tenants? With the sleuthing help of a friend from the EPA and the moral support of her boyfriend, Stan, and 12-year-old daughter, Antonia, Fil cracks the case with her usual aplomb.