MOTHER'S DAY OUT - Karen MacInerney

Life is pretty typical for stay-at-home mom Margie Peterson. She’s got two young kids, an attorney husband who never quite makes partner, and a fixer-upper house she doesn’t have the money to fix. Things are rolling along fine until the first preschool tuition bill hits the mailbox, and Margie realizes it’s time to take out a second mortgage…or get a job.

Margie’s mother-in-law wants her to join the Junior League, her mother thinks her aura needs adjusting, and her husband wants her to sell Tupperware. But Margie decides on something more exciting than washing dishes at charity teas or matching plastic lids with bowls.

When a seedy PI agency hires her as a part-time private investigator, Margie finds herself tracking an obese plumbing salesman with a penchant for Saran Wrap and bargain-basement hookers. But Margie’s no Sam Spade. By the end of her first day, she’s totaled her minivan, submitted a picture of a naked man in Saran Wrap to the school newsletter, and accidentally participated in a drag queen contest. When she finds a dead transvestite in the “Princesses’” room of a gay bar, she decides it may be time to hang up her hat and start planning Tupperware parties. Then she picks up the drag queen’s phone … and discovers the last call the dead man made was to Margie’s own house.
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This was FUN! This is what it would have been if Lucille Ball had decided to become a private investigator.
Marigold 'Margie' Peterson wants to earn some extra money. Her husband wants her to be a SAHM and join the Junior League to help him move up to partner in the law firm. 
Margie finds Peaches, a private investigator, and asks for a tryout. Peaches reluctantly gives her a shot with an infidelity case. Margie gets her man, wrapped in plastic wrap, and it's pedal to the metal from there on out.
She wins points with the snooty headmistress of her children's pre-school by agreeing to look into missing school funds. And her next job leads her into getting third place in a drag queen contest.
I loved this book. I could identify with Margie's need to get out of the house and find herself again. She is more than a mother and wife and definitely more than Junior League material. She has the coolest best friend, Becky, who helps her out in more ways than one.
I do hope there will be more adventures with Margie. I love Karen MacInerney's other two series I've read, Grey Whale Inn Mystery and Tales of an Urban Werewolf, and now I can add Marigold's adventures to the mix.

HOWLING AT THE MOON: Tales of an Urban Werewolf - Karen MacInerney

Romance is about to get a little hairy.

Sophie Garou seems to have it all: a great job at a prestigious accounting firm, a closet that rivals a Nordstrom showroom, and a terrific boyfriend who isn’t afraid to use the “M” word. There’s just one little itty-bitty problem: Sophie is a werewolf–and her time of month has a whole new meaning.

Needless to say, life among yummy flesh-and-blood humans is no piece of steak . . . er, cake!, but regular doses of wolfsbane tea and a mother who runs a magic shop have helped Sophie keep her paranormal pedigree under wraps. Still, when a sexy, golden-eyed werewolf prowls into town, Sophie finds herself struggling to keep her animal impulses in check–not to mention trying to keep things on track with her super hot (and super human) lawyer boyfriend. What’s more, someone is threatening to expose Sophie for what she really is. And when her mother is accused of selling a poison-laced potion, Sophie must sniff out a culprit before the fur hits the fan.

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! A super cool werewolf urban fantasy series! I already dig Karen MacInerney's Grey Whale Inn series (and I've only read the first in the series) and was hyped when I learned she also wrote a UF series.
Sophie Garou is a werewolf hiding in plain sight. She has a super job and a fab boyfriend. But no one knows she furs up from time to time except her mom who helps out with her daily wolfsbane tea infusions.
But someone knows her secret and is threatening to tell.
I had a great time reading this and look forward to reading the rest of the series as I get to them.