Wildcat Play — Helen Knode

“This book is a blast -- a gutsy, funny heroine and a story that's a pulse-pounding thrill ride” (Janet Evanovich).
 
Ann Whitehead has spent some time as a hipster Hollywood film critic, but she grew up in the grittier and less glamorous world of the oil and gas industry. So she's not at all out of her element when her grandfather's friend, who owns an oil company in the San Joaquin Valley, gets her a job with a contractor drilling his wildcat well. Ready for a lifestyle change after a close call with a killer, she welcomes the hard work, and even loves her crusty old boss.
 
Then a guy on her crew is killed by a falling hammer. Sheriffs rule it an accident, but Ann's LAPD squeeze, Det. Doug Lockwood, says it's murder. Of course, Ann can't resist the challenge of chasing a killer -- until the killer starts chasing her . . .
 
Wildcat Play is a wild ride, full of bad behavior and belly laughs, eccentric characters and small-town atmosphere -- starring a heroine who never does anything halfway.
 
“Conspiracy, murder, and family secrets eventually explode in an exciting conclusion.” -- Publishers Weekly
 
“I fell in love with the people, the place and most of all the words.” -- Michael Connelly