Identical right down to the last freckle, twentysomething redheads Kerry and Terry McAfee are perhaps L.A.'s most unusual P.I.s. But one mystery they just can't solve is how twin sisters could be so different. Kerry is level-headed, whereas Terry is a slave to her impulses. Kerry was a boy-crazy, high-school overachiever, while Terry majored in drugs, delinquency, and chasing girls. Add a hot-pink Harley-Davidson, a couple of cute pooches, and Jennifer Colt’s flair for comedy, and you can see why this high-concept mystery series is already a hit with readers.

In The Mangler of Malibu Canyon, the girls are back for their second case. As their rich aunt Reba moves into her new Malibu beach house, she unrolls a rug and finds a surprise: a decapitated body. Kerry insists that they call the police--partly because she hopes to catch a glimpse of her former flame, the sexy Detective John Boatwright. But no sooner do the cops begin investigating than Reba and the girls are shocked by the arrival of their cousin Robert—carrying a human head in a mesh bag, with no memory of where he's been.

Now it's up to the twins to find the real killer, as Reba and Robert face the prospect of life behind bars. As the twins search for clues, they find themselves dealing with terrorists, mobsters, Raelian-like cultists, has-been actresses, and even visitors from outer space. With a razor-sharp wit that brilliantly spoofs California's most eccentric personalities, Mangler is fast-paced, sexy, hilariously original, and more fun than a ride down the Pacific Coast Highway.<