Reviews for A Dead Red Cadillac, formerly Flying Through Forty

“Ms. Dahlke will quickly join the ranks of all the popular female mystery writers.”
— Marilyn Meredith, Author of Guilt by Association and Deeds of Darkness.


“The author has created a fast, funny and intelligent plot. I particularly enjoyed some of the phrasing, as when Spike the nasty Chihuahua is “running the interior like a gerbil’s gymnasium as he baptised innocent passersby with ear-piercing doggy curses” – sounds just like my little pet. Highly recommended, and I am looking forward to the next “Flying” book with Lalla, Spike and Noah Bains.”
— Chris Wallace, for the DorothyL list:


” If your criteria for a good mystery includes a memorable protagonist, believable characters, a solid story with some quirky twists, and a deft writer’s touch, R.P. Dahlke’s Flying Through Forty is the book for you. Her protagonist, Lalla Bains, is hardly your run-of-the-mill professional sleuth. On the surface, she’s as down to earth as the folks at Roxanne’s café, but her past has given her more than her share of street smarts which she puts to good use when one of her acquaintances turns up dead. The chain reaction of adventures that ensue will keep you hooked to the very end. A fun story, well told.”
—Dorien Grey, author of the Dick Hardesty mystery series


“When Lalla Baines turned 40, the jam hit the fan!
Recipe for Flying Through Forty: take one irascible twice divorced ex-New York model turned crop duster, one vintage Caddy submerged with a dead award-winning jam maker at the wheel, one country boy Romeo, one cross-dressing escaped prisoner, a yummy sheriff, missing money, and possible drug smuggling; mix together thoroughly with a cast of colorful characters and one ill-tempered Chihuahua; bake until you laugh out loud.”
— Sue Ann Jaffarian – author of the award-winning Odelia Grey Mystery Series


“Sometimes a book falls into your hands and you wonder, ‘How can I get this book in the hands of other readers?’ That’s how I feel about R.P.Dahlke’s book,FLYING THROUGH FORTY. By page eight, I was a fan of Lalla Bains… A drug runner, missing money and a homicidal cross-dresser make this caper fun… I hope Lalla ‘Flows Through Fifty’ and ‘Sails Through Sixty.’ I’m with her for the ride.”
–Review by Sunny Frazier as printed in Poison Pen, Central Valley Sisters in Crime Newsletter