Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann

From Chicago author Libby Fischer Hellmann, here's a top-notch mystery with a strong female main character, Georgia Davis.  She's feisty, proud, confident and able.  She's a good PI who isn't a "superhero" type...meaning she get afraid and is not ashamed to show it.  In Doubleback, Davis gets involved with a kidnapping/murder/financial malfeasance plot that takes her from Chicago to the Arizona-Mexico border.  Hellmann's writing style is good, though I think sometimes she can be a bit choppy.  But, the great character construction and well-laid-out plot make up for this. Though the plot can be a bit far-fetched (as most thrillers and mysteries can be), Davis also seems believable in her role...meaning she doesn't just happen to "fall" into situations, rather the escapades she finds herself in are essential to the plot.   I would read more tales about Georgia Davis and her sometimes partner-in-crime Ellie Foreman (Hellmann does a series with Foreman as more of a primary character too).