Can a six-pound Chihuahua take down a pistol-wielding drug dealer? You betcha! Meet long-haired Chiquita, protector and companion of Florida fabric artist Maeve McGonagle, Chiq travels with Maeve to art shows in the Sunshine State, taking center stage in their show tent to meet-and-charm clients. At upscale Camellia Creek in central Florida, the annual juried show is a top-dollar event where Maeve anticipates great sales of her unique hand-painted wearables. Until she's warned it's going to be life-threatening. But nothing will stop her and her bff (best furry friend) from going!

She doesn't anticipate mayhem and murder, being mistaken for 18th century French royalty, or meeting an enigmatic take-charge potter who wants to take charge of her when she's suspected of being the murderer. Maeve, divorced from volatile, overbearing, I'm-in-charge Leo, wants none of that treatment. But the attraction simmers as her self-appointed knight in shining deck shoes keeps her safe from increasingly bizarre threats, all the while charming Chiquita and fending off the addled, ailing detective pursuing the case.

As the body count mounts, Maeve and Peter Berrien, ex-Coast Guard officer ("Don't ask, it's classified.") race to stay one step ahead of their unknown foes, the persistent detective, and the private security force protecting Camellia Creek's secretive residents. When the showdown erupts, will the feisty and fearless Chiquita be able to keep her humans from harm?

Readers who enjoy Janet Evanovich's humor and quirky characters will appreciate Maeve's unique world.