Roped in — K.D. Hays

Her last clients fired her. Now investigator Karen Maxwell needs to prove she can be trusted to solve hard cases or she'll be out of a job. But will she ever be taken seriously as an investigator when her only cases involve a broken jump rope and a dead parrot? Karen discovers a whole new world when she goes undercover into the sport of competitive jump rope. Athletes dedicate hours of practice to dreams of making it to the world competition -- some might do anything to win. Add a gym-full of raging teenage hormones and overzealous parents and it becomes even more difficult to discover the truth about that broken rope. Meanwhile, the parrot investigation gets Karen in trouble with the Neighborhood Watch, her daughter is developing a suspicious social life, and her son can't be trusted with the toaster oven. Then there's the whole romance thing… Is there enough caffeine in the world to get her through this?